Welcome to another chapter everyone! Thanks for reading and your support so far. I'm happy to update with another chapter. My brain is screaming at me because I should be doing school work, but it's fine…summer classes will be done soon enough.

Anyway! As usual, your love and support in any form is greatly appreciated. Please review if you feel so inclined or share lol. This chapter has some more Grimmichi interaction which is why you're here of course. Okay bye! Enjoy~


"Ah shit!" Grimmjow hissed before pushing the hand away. He grumbled as he sat on his couch and glared at the man standing above him. He was wearing simple tank top and gray sweatpants.

Ichigo sighed and looked down at the man. He was holding a cloth that had some antibacterial spray on it in one hand and a bandage in the other. He looked tired. Grimmjow was healing well as usual, but he wasn't good with sitting still during his wound clean-ups. The other day he nearly chewed off the head of the guy Aizen sent to check on him which left Ichigo with the task of cleaning the fighter up and making sure he's resting.

"Look, it'll sting at best. I know what I'm doing." Ichigo argued. "Shit, can take a punch but not some medicine." Ichigo mumbled to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Now sit still. You're acting like you're getting your eye stitched." Ichigo scowled.

"Tch, are you a doctor? Who's to say you won't fuck up?" Grimmjow leaned back against the couch and crossed his arms.

Ichigo shook his head. "Damn, you're drama queen." He rubbed his neck. "Look, you want a doctor? I'll drag you to my dad's if you keep being difficult."

That caught Grimmjow's attention. As many stories as he heard about the older Kurosaki, he didn't want to meet him in person yet. Grimmjow initially had a feeling that the bodyguard's stories were falsified, but then again…who knows for sure.

Grimmjow grumbled and sat up.

Ichigo used his gloved hands to examine the cut on Grimmjow's eyebrow. It was mostly closed. He dabbed his cloth on it and received a hiss. "Calm down," Ichigo placed on a band-aid. He looked the rest of the man's face—nothing needing to be covered. It was times like this when Ichigo could be in such proximity with Grimmjow and not get so flustered. "Alright good, nothing else happened to that stupid pretty face of yours." He then heard a snicker and a shot of warm breath against his neck.

Ichigo immediately straightened up and looked down at Grimmjow. He cursed at himself. Before fights, Grimmjow was moodier than normal and anxious about winning. However, once he won…it didn't serve to lower his ego. He immediately was his cocky, mischievous self again which could be a curse and a blessing.

Grimmjow caught the slight blush on Ichigo's face before he turned around and discarded his gloves on the table.

Ichigo tried to return to business as usual. "Anyway, how are the bruises?"

"Hehe, why don't I just show you, doc?" and he lifted up his shirt and revealed his front half in all its glory.

Ichigo's brain was screaming, but the professional side quickly took over. Ichigo looked and saw that the bruises were fading and should be gone in a week at most. Grimmjow didn't have any broken bones, so after some rest, he should be back to training in a couple weeks. Ichigo grabbed the man's hand and pulled the shirt down. Ichigo started cleaning up the first aid kit. "You're fine for now. See how quick that was? There's no need to scare that poor man."

"Aww, can't even look me in the eye, Strawberry? What's wrong? Having some lonely nights?" Grimmjow howled at his own joke.

Ichigo turned around and glared at the man. "I'm not the one here acting like I need my dick touched."

Grimmjow grinned. "Good one. I'll give you that sure." he chuckled. "But just so you know, you don't have to bury yourself in your phone when I'm modeling. I don't mind the staring." And with that, he stood up and sauntered to the stairs and disappeared.

Ichigo only stared. Damn, I just wanna bang my head against a wall. Winning wasn't good for the fighter's ego. At all.


Once again, it was one of Ichigo's well-deserved day off which meant he didn't have to lurk around the house. He appreciated the break. Grimmjow didn't know, but there seemed to be an increase in the bold fans popping around—or particularly one. Ichigo didn't know who, but whoever it was seemed to be cautious yet somehow bold. They seemed to lurk around the house and anywhere else Grimmjow was at a far enough distance that most people wouldn't notice. But Ichigo did after some time.

The man sighed and stretched. He was off the clock which meant he could give that security business a break. He needed to relax. Grimmjow would be fine, and Ichigo had enough to worry about.

"Kurosaki-kun!" he immediately felt arms wrapped around his neck from behind.

Despite his scowl, he turned and hugged his friend. Though he had seen Orihime at Chad's fight, it was good to see her again. She had been busy with school along with the most of his friends. College was an okay experience. The man had finished earlier than his friends, but he wasn't sure what to do with a business degree which is why he had taken on the security gig.

He looked up and saw Ishida, Chad, Renji, and Rukia.

"Look who's out the house! Did your boyfriend give you a day off?" Renji snickered with a grin. Rukia blushed slightly and giggled. She looked like she was on the verge of imaging things Ichigo did not want to hear about.

Ichigo blushed slightly and punched his friend in the arm. "Shut up. You have more important things to worry about. How many more months until you guys graduate?"

Ishida pushed up his glasses. "We have some time," he paused, "but you didn't answer Abarai's question."

Ichigo looked at the man. "Not you too." He muttered. "I am very much single thank you—which is not a problem!" he grumbled because he wasn't sure where he wanted to go with that. "Fuck, let's get a table."

He led the group into the barbecue restaurant. The host showed everyone to a wide circular table with a large grill in the middle. A server came quickly to light the grill and took everyone's drink orders.

Ichigo relaxed a bit by then. "Well don't stress about your college exams. I rushed through, and I'm not doing much." He grunted.

"Oh don't say that. It's good that you have a job. You get to meet so many interesting people." Rukia's eyes sparkled a bit.

"Tch, more like a pain in my ass." Ichigo grumbled. He thought about how Grimmjow fussed while he changed his bandages. He rolled his eyes.

Ishida chimed in. "Kurosaki has a lot of opportunity in front of him if he just knows where to look."

Ichigo grumbled and started cooking meat on the grill. "Whatever. The only connects I seem to have are for a model photographer who may want to take me out on a date."

Ishida's eyes lit up slightly. "Is she searching for any designers?" Despite his ongoing medical studies, the man's fashion hobby was proving to take up most of his time. Ichigo snapped a photo of Mastumoto's business card and sent it to the other. Just because he wasn't sure about what life held for him in the next few years doesn't mean his friends won't figure something out.

"Oh, how are the twins doing?" Orihime asked.

Ichigo flipped the steak cooking. "They're okay. I know Yuzu had submitting a couple of early applications. They have a test date coming in a month or two I think."

Renji leaned back in his seat. "It's crazy man. They're going to be going into college soon." Chad nodded and started pouring drinks for his friends.

"Well, they'll be fine. They're good girls." Rukia then had a mischievous look on her face. "But Ichigo, remember our econ professor? You won't believe what I just heard."

And with that, the night continued with plates of barbecue meat and Korean alcohol. The group caught Ichigo up on their university antics and future plans. Ichigo insisted that not much was up in his life. They didn't argue, but Renji asked if he could get tickets to Grimmjow's next fight. Ichigo shrugged. He rarely wondered about the perks of his job especially since Aizen was good on his word and paid Ichigo more for his "live-in" status.

Somehow, the group ended up at a karaoke club in which they ran into some other people from the school. Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Shuuhei were on their way to a club but decided that karaoke was a better idea once they had spotted Ichigo out.

And so the night was filled with even more alcohol, terrible singing, and embarrassing dancing. Yumichika had chided everyone on their singing and then proceeded to put on such a horrid performance that Ikkaku recorded while howling in laughter. He then begged everyone not to post the video anywhere. He thought it would be quite the birthday surprise later on. Somehow, the drunk crew of students agreed.

After some begging, Orihime got Chad and Ichigo on stage where they gave a performance of a popular rap song from their high school days. It was quite the shocker considering Chad's quiet nature.

Renji chuckled as he typed on his phone after the song.

Rukia peeked up. "What are you doing?"

Renji grinned and shrugged. "I agreed to keep the video of Yumi. There's no way I'd agree to hiding this one of Ichigo." He laughed.

Rukia nodded at that logic. I can't argue there. She looked up and saw that Ichigo was going to do a song with Orihime. She raised her phone slightly. I can't miss out either.


Meanwhile, Grimmjow found himself in his gym with loud blasting rock music vibrating through the walls. He was sweating as he went to town on the sandbag hanging from the ceiling. He knew he shouldn't be pushing his body so hard, but he couldn't stand siting around the house. Ichigo was gone, and there wasn't much to do.

He had the idea that he should sneak out the house and go out, but he didn't feel like Aizen popping out of the blue and ruining his mood. Plus, Aizen had other sport clients, so as scary and annoying as he was, Grimmjow didn't want to get dropped. So all things considered, he ordered some ramen and was working up his hunger.

Grimmjow saw his phone flash and stopped for a moment. He looked at his phone and saw that the doorbell had rung. He figured it was a delivery driver.

He took a towel and wiped his face. He let it hang around his neck and jogged to the door. He didn't bother looking through the peep hole and opened the door.

Instead of a person, Grimmjow looked down at basket.

What the hell is this?

He squatted down and looked at it. It was a woven basket filled with bright blue tissue paper. There were varying fruits and foods in it as well as a couple cards and photos from sports articles Grimmjow had been featured in.

The man looked at it from angles. It was definitely something from a dedicated fan, but there was no way it should be at his door—not at this hour at least. Grimmjow heard the gate to his house open and jumped slightly. He watched as a small black car drove up.

Grimmjow watched tensely from the door as the car pulled up. Then, a young unassuming man came out with a t-shirt, sweats, and a cap on. He held a bag that displayed the restaurants logo on it.

"Hey, I'm your delivery driver." He popped his gum and held out the food for the other.

Grimmjow looked at him for a moment before taking the bag. "Thanks," he paused and looked at the gate, "no one let you in right?"

The driver looked confused and shook his head. "Uh no. I used da code you gave."

Grimmjow let out a deep breath and nodded. Relax man. "Of course, yeah." He handed the man some cash. "Thanks." And against his better judgement, he went inside with both the food and the basket and managed to lock the door behind him.

He walked into the kitchen and dropped everything on the counter. He grumbled as he looked at the basket. Part of him suggested that he called up his bodyguard and have him come home but…Ichigo needed to have fun and by the photos he had gotten from some new group chat where he only recognized Sado's number, the young man was having a good time.

Fuck it. I'll deal with it later. He opened up his bag and poured the ramen broth into the bowl with the noodles. It smelled amazing. Grimmjow's mood immediately brightened up, and he went upstairs to enjoy his meal—leaving the basket and his worries in the kitchen.


Ichigo groaned as he rolled awake in his bed. He glared up at the ceiling. The night before had been fun, but now he was hungover and did not feel like working. Aizen had set him up with some security meeting he had to go to. Apparently, it talked about new threats and predators and was basically for honing your skills. Ichigo swore the older man must have been a scout or something as a youth because 'Be Prepared' seemed to be the man's life motto. Ichigo went to these training things every few months, and he was starting to get slightly paranoid at times—for his sake and Grimmjow's.

Ichigo climbed out his bed and walked into the adjacent bathroom. He brushed his teeth while his shower water warmed up. He washed his face and hoped that the slight bags under his eyes would go away. He had a couple hours to spare before the training started, so he was in no particular rush.

After the shower, Ichigo changed into some house clothes before finally making his way into the kitchen. He could smell coffee when he stepped in. He peeked and saw Grimmjow—shirtless—standing in front of the stove.

Ichigo chuckled. "You cook?"

Grimmjow grumbled and cussed as hot grease jumped at him. "Shut up. I can't keep spending all of my money on takeout. That's not healthy."

Ichigo took a seat at the high counter to enjoy the show. "As much as I appreciate your attempts to seduce me this morning, it's not smart to cook bacon without a shirt on."

Another pop and Grimmjow hopped back. "No shit Sherlock." He then placed the bacon on the two plates and handed on to Ichigo. "Remind me never to do anything nice for you again asshole."

Ichigo looked down at the plate. It was strawberry French toast with bacon. Grimmjow placed a bowl of fruit in front of him. Granted it, it was still not the healthiest meal a fighter should be eating, but maybe it was a cheat day. "Oh I didn't know you made me some…you didn't have to."

Grimmjow rolled his eyes and took a seat by the man. "It beats the sugary shit you call cereal."

"Tch, whatever. You're gonna need a personal chef if you keep cooking this junk. Shouldn't you be chugging raw eggs and spinach?" Ichigo grumbled before stuffing a bite in. It was…delicious. He needed a meal like this, and it had been awhile since he had a hot breakfast. He didn't pin Grimmjow as one to cook often, but he definitely had some basic skills.

"I'd hire that sister of yours if she wasn't so hellbent on going to college." Grimmjow mumbled. Ichigo had a surprised look on his face. "What?"

The man turned away. "Nothing. I just didn't think that you paid that much attention to what I say. Yuzu really does want to cook professionally, but I support her going to school. Just a good cushion for life."

Grimmjow fought a slight blush. Listening meant he cared, and he didn't want to seem too soft. "Well…those sisters of yours is all you talked about when you came here. Hard to forget some things." He paused to continue eating. "But that food she made was good as hell. I rather her live here and cook than deal with your grumpy ass." He chuckled.

"Not in a million years. I couldn't have her staying with a perv like you."

"Hey! I've been on my best behavior. I could spend all my time flirting with you eh, Strawberry." Grimmjow grinned as he bit into the fruit and winked at the man.

Ichigo cursed under his breath but didn't trust himself to say anything. He stood up and made himself a cup of coffee. He glanced at a basket and was confused. "Where'd you get this from?"

Grimmjow shrugged. "It was left at my door. I brought it when I went to get my dinner last night."

Ichigo tensed. "What the hell. This could be a bomb for all you know!"

"That's a bit excessive don't you think? Plus, it would have went off by now. Don't start worrying."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "It's my job to worry. Shit, I'm gone for a night, and you're bringing in strange shit."

"Oh, I'm sure you had quite the night." Grimmjow chuckled. "What was the song? I was made for lovin' you baby; you were made for lovin' me. Quite the Casanova; I wish I knew." Grimmjow stuck his tongue out and winked.

Ichigo stood horrified recalled vaguely the other song Ichigo had performed with Orihime. There was no way Grimmjow should have seen that. He blushed embarrassed. "How'd you see that?"

Grimmjow grinned. "I have my ways."

Ichigo grumbled. "Fuck you." He started fixing his coffee and saw the basket. "I'll be out today. Don't bring in random shit and throw this away!"

Grimmjow laughed at his childish anger. "Yeah, yeah."


And scene. That was a bit fluffy. I'm trying to find some balance to where this story isn't going too fast or slow. I know where I wanna go with this so that's good. Thank you for reading. See you all in the next update~