Chapter 18: Family Dinner

Grimmjow looked around the apartment and then looked at Orihime. Lucy was also in the room. "Well, do you like it?" he asked his girlfriend. "I'm sure in a year we can move somewhere else."

He was nervous about this meeting and looking over the apartment in Chicago. Seeing Orihime come home a couple of weeks ago looking like she had gotten into a boxing ring with all her bruises had been bad. He didn't say anything, except that maybe waiting until Spring Break to move was somewhat of a bad idea. If Orihime wanted to, they could move sooner.

When he had asked her that question, she could have wept. She was very enthusiastic with her acceptance of the idea, and they agreed to leave as soon as possible. Now, a little over two weeks later, and she was looking at an apartment slightly older and smaller than Grimmjow's current apartment. It wasn't bad. It had two bedrooms though, so that Brady could have a room.

Orihime smiled as she looked around. "This place is great. Is it available right away?"

"Eh, I think so. Lucy? Do you have any details and… Is Court bringing Brady by?" Grimmjow asked the blonde.

"I was thinking you guys could come over for dinner after this, if you don't have any other plans," Lucy said with a small smile. "I think it would be better if Brady met Orihime in the place he felt most comfortable; same as when you met him, Grimm. And also, yeah, Giselle has the lease application ready if you want to fill it out. I think she said it's just a matter of running your credit and a background check. I vouched for you already," she added.

Grimmjow gave Lucy a smile then turned to his girlfriend. "What do you think Hime? Want to meet Braids and have dinner?" He turned his face to Lucy. "Are you making him chicken nuggets? That boy eats so many of them, he might turn into one," the man said with a fond tone of voice.

Orihime opened her mouth to answer but Lucy replied first, a knowing glint in her eyes and a smile in her tone, "Yeah… We're trying to branch out from chicken nuggets. You know how it is, though, Grimm. He knows what he likes, just like his Daddy."

A sick feeling pulled at Orihime's guts but she swallowed it. Lucy and Grimmjow had history. They had a kid. They had a relationship outside of her. "I'd like that," she answered, a little late, and with a little voice.

"Good. Great." Grimmjow felt shitty again. He felt this way every time he was around Lucy. He couldn't help it. He was only with Orihime to spite Ulquiorra. If he could, he'd take this entire relationship back. If he had just let her go, she could have been living in that posh apartment and on the arm of a Batman wannabe. "Yeah, let's fill it out the application."

The rental agent had been waiting for the word and stepped forward with a clipboard. "Word to the wise," she said, "If you're not married, only one of you should fill out the application. The landlord is kind of religious," she said with an apologetic nose wrinkle. "These old landlords of these old properties tend to be that way. It will make your application go through more smoothly if you do,so I'll leave the form with you two while you decide how you want to do it," she said, setting the clipboard and a pen on the table next to them.

"You want to do it, don't you?" Orihime asked as soon as the woman stepped away. "I mean, until I can figure out what to do with Louise, my name is still on my apartment in Evanston. With my income, it probably doesn't look good if I fill it out."

Grimmjow nodded. "Yeah. I mean with your income… I doubt they'd even look at the application. I already know what my salary will be when I start working for Lucy. Is it okay with you if I do that, Orihime? I don't want to make you… resent or regret this."

Orihime smiled and shook her head. "No, not at all; it's a matter of practicality. I get it," she said, taking a step back from the table for emphasis. "Get to filling out, Babe."

She internally winced. She never called him that. What was she doing? She glanced at the blonde standing a few feet away and smiled slightly wider. She was why, Orihime realized.

The man looked at the redhead for a few seconds before he started filling out the application. He had his phone out looking up numbers and addresses. He only looked up at Lucy. "Um, I don't know the phone number to put down for you… Business number?"

"Just use my cell phone," she said.

He gave a nod and went back to scribbling. A few minutes later he was signing the bottom of the application. "Okay," he said, a bit nervous. "That's done."

Giselle, the rental agent, took the application and the deposit he had left with it and nodded. "Great. I should have the news by tomorrow at five, and then you can move in as soon as you sign the actual lease." She walked to the door and opened it for the other three to exit. "Good luck, we'll be in touch," she said as she locked the door and left.

"Well, that's done," Orihime said with a smile. She was kind of working on autopilot at the moment. She thought it was weird that Grimmjow asked Lucy about what number to put on the application, but chalked it up to listing her as a reference. That had to be it. He wouldn't cheat on her. She was his princess.

He hadn't called her that in a long time.

"Yep. Do you want us to follow you over to your place Luce?" Grimmjow asked the other woman. He was feeling a bit agitated and awkward. What if Ulquiorra gave him a shitty reference? What if things didn't work out with Orihime? What if Brady didn't like the redhead? "I kind of want to see Brady."

Both short women smiled warmly, looking up at his face. "Well, follow me," Lucy said first, starting down the stairs to the main level. The apartment they had seen was on the second floor.

When Orihime got into Grimmjow's car, she sighed. She hadn't realized how tense she had been in the other woman's presence. "I really hope we get it," she murmured, smiling at her boyfriend.

"We will. I know Lucy will vouch for me. She's a good person, Orihime." Grimmjow said as he began to drive. "Are you excited to move though?"

"I am so excited," Orhime said. "I'm sure Lucy will do what she can. She seems excited, too. You seem anxious. You worried this won't work out?" she asked innocently. She meant getting the apartment.

"Kind of," Grimmjow said, focused on traffic. "I mean, there's a lot of factors on the table here."

"Oh? Like what?" she asked, also looking forward. She didn't think Grimmjow had any debt problems; he wore nice clothes but he didn't live extravagantly.

"Eh, us. This new job. I've been working for RBM for years. Lucy and Brady. It all seems like it could go wrong, you know?" Grimmjow replied.

She didn't answer. He said factors. He said things could go wrong. He was right, of course, but it didn't seem like a good idea to dwell on them. It felt like it was asking for the worst to happen by doing that. "I'm sure Lucy wouldn't sell you down the river with the job. She wouldn't let you into Brady's life and then sabotage yours. She seems like she has a good head on her shoulders." She patted his knee and sighed through a smile. She wasn't as confident as she sounded when she added, "And we are going to be great. The farther away from our crazy mothers we can get, the better."

Grimmjow glanced at the young woman sitting beside him and then gave her a smile. "I hope so. Just wait until you meet Brady. He's a great kid, but constantly wants McDonald's. I feel like a bad guy when I tell him no. He's just-He's great."

Orihime sighed again and looked at him. Really, really looked at him. It had been a long time since she had done this, just staring at his profile as he drove. "I'm sure you're a great dad, Grimmjow," she murmured, a bit lost in her thoughts. She still felt a lot of affection and attachment toward him. Maybe it wasn't the desperate love she thought they had when things were fresh between them and the hormones were flying high, but she still thought they were going to be just fine. They were going through a rough transition, but he was still the king of her castle.

She thought of Ulquiorra for a moment. She had done the right thing, she knew it. She was attached to Grimmjow. She'd never break his heart, he didn't deserve it. He'd only ever been good to her. He was helping her escape Louise, for Christ's sake. He was going to cohabitate with her. Whatever feelings she had for Ulquiorra were untested.

Yes, she had feelings for him. When she kissed him goodbye, it had broken her heart. She knew, that by doing what she did, she ran the risk of closing that door of possibility of something more with Ulquiorra forever. Now that he was with Rangiku, she knew that it was. It would probably always hurt, but… Ulquiorra never really went for it with her. Grimmjow never gave her up. To her, that meant that Grimmjow cared more. What else was she supposed to do?

They arrived at Lucy's place fifteen minutes later. Grimmjow parked the car and then got out, not bothering to wait for Orihime. He just hoped she followed behind him. "That's the only thing I don't like about Chicago, the damn traffic," he said.

Orihime jogged behind. "What?" she hadn't been able to hear with the distance between them.

"I said I don't like the traffic in this city," Grimmjow said as he rang the doorbell.

"Ah," she said as the door opened. A woman she didn't recognize opened the door.

"Oh, hi Grimmjow. Lucy's just getting dinner started, come on in," the woman said with a bright friendly smile towards the blue-haired man. She appeared to be about Orihime's age.

"Hey Court. Orihime, this is Courtney. Courtney, this is Orihime, my girlfriend. Court is Brady's nanny," Grimmjow explained as he walked into the apartment. He was already slipping his coat off and hanging it up. "Brady!"

"Daddy!" a small, loud voice called about and thunderous quick steps followed. Orihime's gaze snapped to the small figure barreling towards her boyfriend. She didn't see the look of familiarity on the nanny's face.

"What did he say your name was?" Courtney asked.

Orihime was melting into a puddle. The scene before her was foreign to her and weird, but also heartwarming and adorable as her boyfriend scooped his son up into a bear hug. "Orihime Inoue," she muttered, hanging her coat up over Grimmjow's and walking to his side.

"How is my little guy today?" Grimmjow asked with a wide grin on his face. "Were you good today for Courtney? I got a deal for you, kiddo." He carried the little boy into the living area.

"What is it?" Brady asked, looking excited. "McDonalds?"

The man laughed and then turned to look at Orihime. "See what I mean? No bud. I'll give you a dollar to eat something besides chicken nuggets."

Orihime smiled, then giggled as Brady replied, "I don't want dollars. I want nuggies or Paw Patrol."

"I'm sure you can arrange something, right?" Orihime said, walking over to them in the living room, waiting to be introduced.

"Maybe," Grimmjow said. He then turned to Orihime and made sure Brady was looking at her. "Brady this is Orihime, my girlfriend. Remember I told you about her?"

"Owihime? Oh! Daddy's fwend. Hi!" he said as Orihime waved at him.

"Hi Brady, I am glad to finally meet you. Your Dad talks about you a lot."

"I do talk about you a lot, Brady. That's true. It's because you're my boy, huh?" Grimmjow said and then started tickling the kid with one hand.

The child screamed with glee and kicked and twisted in his father's arms. "Stop! Daddy, stop!"

"Is everything okay out there?" Lucy's voice called from the kitchen. There was a distinctly sharp undertone to it.

Grimmjow immediately stopped tickling Brady and set him on his feet. He walked towards the kitchen. "It's fine, Luce. I was tickling him," he explained once he saw the mother of his son. "It's not like I'm going to harm him. I love him."

Lucy sighed and looked over her shoulder. "I know you don't mean to, but you've got to respect his bodily autonomy. If he says stop, stop," she said matter-of-factly.

"I did that. He said stop. You got all mother hen. I stopped. I'll go apologize to him," Grimmjow said with a slight pout on his face and turned back around.

Orihime was right there and looking at him with sympathy in her expression. "I thought you were fine," she said when they were out of earshot.

"Yeah? Well, concerning Brady, Lucy is kind of… uptight? Cautious would be a better word for it. He's her light," Grimmjow said. Once he got to Brady again, he knelt down. "Brady, I'm sorry for tickling you. I was just trying to have fun, okay?"

"I like it when Daddy tickles me but sometimes it makes me want to pee my pants," the kid kind of whisper-shouted.

Grimmjow smiled and patted Brady on the head. "I know, buddy. Do you want to play a game with Orihime while I go talk to Mommy?"

Brady turned to look at the redhead, who smiled back at him. He looked back at his father with worried eyes and whispered something into his ears.

Grimmjow frowned but nodded. "It's okay. I didn't know her at first, but I played a game with her and I got to know her. She's nice. C'mere Orihime, sit down." He patted the space next to him and made himself comfortable. "Maybe we can read a book?"

Orihime did as Grimmjow said and Brady nodded to the suggestion of reading a book. Orihime looked at her boyfriend. It was weird seeing him in Dad mode. It made her feel like she wasn't quite on his level. It wasn't bad, but it was weird.

"He'll warm up to you," Grimmjow murmured to Orihime with a faint smile on his face. He took the book that was offered to him and read it and three others before he decided that was enough of reading. "I'm going to get a drink."

Brady wasn't done with it. "Can you wead, Owihime?" he asked her, hopefully.

"I can, do you want me to read you some stories?" Orihime asked with a bright smile.

He nodded and shoved a book in her hands before climbing into her lap. Orihime pouted, thinking it was adorable, and looked towards Grimmjow.

Grimmjow was on his way to the kitchen and wasn't even looking at Orihime. He had to talk to Lucy. He didn't want to be thinking of Orihime with a kid or anything like that. He didn't feel comfortable with the two women being in the same room. This entire visit seemed awkward so far. Lucy barely scolded him for playing with Brady.

When he arrived in the kitchen, Courtney was still there. Normally she would have gone home by now. She was looking down at Lucy with an urgent kind of expression, and stopped talking as soon as she saw Grimmjow.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked as he went over to the refrigerator and helped himself to a bottle of water. "What?"

"Oh, nothing, Grimmjow," Courtney said. "I was just telling Lucy about how I need a day off to help my grandma move into, um, a nursing home next week," she lied quickly. "I'll let you think about it, Lucy. Um, either day would work. If you need more information, just give me a call or text. See you guys," she said, grabbing her purse off the counter and leaving.

Lucy watched her leave with a confused expression. "Um, Grimmjow… Sorry for snapping before, I was distracted with the thing Courtney was talking about," she said, drying her hands off on a towel that hung in the front of the oven. "Did you need something?"

Grimmjow looked at Lucy and then raised an eyebrow. He walked further into the kitchen. "I mean, I wanted to see what you thought of things. What do you think of my chances are at getting that place? What do you think of Orihime? Do you still have the same thoughts as you did in December?"

"Which thoughts, exactly, are you talking about?" she asked, turning on the exhaust fan over the stove to afford their conversation more privacy.

For some reason, Grimmjow wasn't really sure of them, he wanted to grab the blonde's hips and hold her close. It wasn't a good feeling for him. He knew he was still attracted to the mother of his kid. He sighed and quickly took a drink from his water. "You know, the one where I'm being immature and I'm going to hurt her?"

Lucy shrugged and looked back into the pan, giving it a stir. "I don't know. I was just asking the question. You're the only one who knows for sure. As for your chances of getting the place," she turned to look at him from over her shoulder with an easy smile. "I think you're in. It's a no-brainer. I don't know about Orihime, we haven't really gotten to know each other," she said, the smile on her face vanishing just a split second before her head was looking back at the pan.

Grimmjow moved so he was standing right behind her. "You're not going to give her a chance, are you? What is really bothering you? Do you want us to leave?"

She shook her head. "No, not at all. I need to see how she is with Brady," she said plainly. This was basically a trial, as far as Lucy was concerned. She wanted to make sure she felt comfortable leaving her son in the company of someone who until now was more or less a stranger.

"You just let me into his life though, and I was practically a stranger to him except for the handful of hours I spent with him in the past couple of years."

She scoffed. "That may be so, but you weren't a stranger to me, Grimm," she said. There was a soft, satisfied hum that accompanied the sentiment. "I knew your heart would be in the right place."

"You're just saying that because I dicked you down and knocked you up," he joked. Grimmjow raised his hand and turned Lucy around so he could look at her face. He didn't say anything for a moment or two.

"That's not the only reason, you big dork," she said with a chuckle. "I mean, you did make a great first impression, faulty condom notwithstanding."

He gave a chuckle then smirked. "Did you want me to come down on Saturday or Sunday next week to spend time with you two?" Grimmjow didn't realize how flirty or seductive his voice sounded.

She noticed, and blushed. "You're welcome here almost anytime," she said, turning around because she was flustered. She turned off the burner and was about to start plating up when she heard a yelp.

That wasn't Brady.

"Everything okay in there?" she said, turning away from the stove and walking into the living room. She saw Brady crawling up Orihime's back and an expression of deep discomfort on her face. She looked like she was being tortured. Lucy shook her head. This girl was such a noob. How was she going to handle-

Oh. Oh holy shit.

Lucy had pulled her son off of Orihime's body, and when she did, the boy hadn't let go of her shirt. Lucy had caught a glimpse of deep purple bruising going down the side of her spine and over her shoulder before the boy finally released her clothing.

"Brady, um, don't climb on people like they're jungle gyms. I need you to go wash your hands now for dinner, okay?" she said in a shaky voice. She watched her son go and when he had the water turned on, she looked back at Grimmjow. She couldn't look at the woman on the floor. She would only see the bruises in her mind. "Can I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute? Excuse us, Orihime."

Orihime looked up at Grimmjow with a questioning expression but answered, "Of course."

Grimmjow had seen what Lucy had seen. He didn't think Orihime was going over to her old apartment anymore. Then again, he really hadn't seen Orihime naked in a week. He shrugged before following Lucy back into the other room. "Yeah?"

As soon as they were back in the kitchen, she pulled him back toward the fan. "Tell me you didn't do that. Tell me it wasn't you," she demanded. Her face was fearful but she wasn't going to be a coward and put her son at risk.

"What? No! Hell no. Do I look like the type of person to hit a woman?" he asked, feeling defensive. He did not appreciate these accusations. "You've known me longer than she has, do you think I'd raise my hand to her or to our son?"

"Then explain to me why it looks like she just went nine rounds!" she hissed back.

Grimmjow glared for a moment then dropped the look. "Her mom is abusive when Orihime doesn't give her… money," he said in a forced way. This wasn't his business to tell.

"Shit," Lucy muttered, shaking her head and going to the cabinet to get some plates. "Shit, shit, shit. Fucking shit." She said, setting them down and starting to dish up some kind of rice and chicken dish.

"Lucy, you wanna tell me what's going on that is making you sound like a sailor?" Grimmjow asked, eyeing her with worry.

"Courtney knows Orihime. She used to know her, anyway. That's what we were talking about. Her grandma is dead already."

Courtney knew Orihime? What did Courtney say to Lucy? Questions steamrolled through his head pushing out other thoughts. "What did she tell you?"

"She said that her whole family was on drugs and that the mom was a mental case. She said she thought maybe Orihime was okay, but the mom is always bouncing checks and getting picked up by the cops for, well, everything. They are both from the Northwest Suburbs… Warrenville… Wheaton? Naperville maybe? I forget. Anyway…" Lucy stopped and sighed. "I don't want that near Brady. I'm sorry. If her mom was out of the picture…" She frowned deeply and looked up at Grimmjow with a sorrowful expression. She understood that Orihime might possibly be innocent in this, but she couldn't take the risk.

What the hell? Lucy was going to pull the plug on him seeing Brady just because of Orihime… Was he hearing her correctly? No… Grimmjow shook his head. "Okay, after tonight, you won't see Orihime again. I won't take Brady around her. I'll… I'll… I don't know."

Lucy's forehead fell into the palm of one hand. "I'm really sorry, Grimmjow. I am. She seems like a really sweet girl, but I don't want Brady exposed to anybody who might hurt us. If things with her mom calm down after you move, maybe I can reconsider, I just can't risk anything happening to our baby," she said, starting to tear up as she looked back at him. He looked so torn and she hated to be the one to do this.

"Lucy," he murmured and pulled her into a hug. Grimmjow rarely showed anyone affection outside of wanting to get laid, so this was a surprise to him that he wanted to comfort her. "You don't have to justify it. I understand. If Louise ever thought about hitting our boy, I'd need bail money."

Lucy let him hug her and she returned it. She didn't say anything about his bail money until he relaxed his hold. "Grimmjow?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't stop her from hurting Orihime, though."

"Orihime needs to stop enabling her mother. I figured if she wanted the abuse to stop, she'd never go over there, but it seems like every Friday she's over there," he said quietly.

Lucy didn't know what to say to that. She didn't know the situation. She took a deep breath and released it. "Well, for tonight, for all of our sakes, especially Brady's, let's act like everything is okay and enjoy a nice dinner. Things might work out. After dinner you can tuck Brady into bed and think about what you want to do, okay?" she asked, taking one of his hands and giving it a squeeze.

Grimmjow gave her hand a squeeze back. He felt shitty again because he knew what he wanted to do, but he didn't know how to do it. "I'll think about it. Thanks for not kicking us out right away."


A/N: Yikes. What do you think?