Chapter XII: I Need Your Advice

Grimmjow heaved a sigh as he opened the door to his penthouse. Tier brushed past him, settling down on the couch in the living room. Grimmjow chose to sit in the armchair. The tension between them was once again palpable and he hated it. They weren't always this way with each other, but now he guessed this was how it was going to be. Tier laid a hand on her rounded belly before she spoke,

"I've made my decision."

"And?" Grimmjow asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I will not go through with the abortion." Grimmjow nearly smiled before he narrowed his gaze in suspicion.

"What's the catch?" Tier scoffed.

"There is no catch, Grimmjow. I will have this baby and you may take it. I want nothing to do with it or you."

Grimmjow frowned. Her wording was a little harsh, but he was used to that by now. He was ecstatic that she'd decided to keep the baby. He had a million plans running through his mind, the first of which was telling Ichigo the good news. He smiled at Tier, who managed to form some sort of an expression. Just then the doorbell rang, and Grimmjow got up to answer. Ichigo smiled before he kissed Grimmjow's cheek.

"She's here?" he asked in a whisper. Grimmjow nodded his response as Ichigo walked inside. "Should I come back later?"

"No, no. Just go into the kitchen for now," Grimmjow responded. Ichigo nodded, though he didn't much approve of having to hide from Grimmjow's baby's mother. He kept silent, though, and headed for the kitchen as Grimmjow rejoined Tier in the living room.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"A friend. Now, when will you be available to arrange a meeting with the lawyers?" Tier looked confused.

"Lawyers?" Grimmjow frowned.

"Of course lawyers. You said you didn't want anything to do with me or the baby, so obviously you need to sign over your parental rights."

"Oh," was her only response. For a split second she looked troubled, before she stood, albeit with some minor difficulty. Grimmjow stood to help her but she just waved him off. "I will have my assistant call you when time is made available." With that, she headed for the door, stopping by the kitchen to look at Ichigo. He paused in his actions, a cup of orange juice halfway to his lips. Her calculating emerald stare cut through him, causing him to nearly tremble.

"Uhh, hi?" he said, dumbly. She continued to gaze at him stoically, and his eyes gained a mind of their own, drifting to the bump in her abdomen.

"Haven't you sold all your cookies already, Girl Scout?" she asked, icily. Ichigo frowned. "Who are you exactly? To Grimmjow I mean?"

Ichigo's frown deepened. He was irritated that she was questioning him, yes, but he was more irritated that he didn't know how to answer. What was he to Grimmjow? A concubine? An escort? A Call of Duty buddy? What? It wasn't like he could just outright say he was Grimmjow's boyfriend, no matter how badly he wanted to; it wasn't true. He decided to just settle for the crass route and answered shortly,

"That's none of your business." A ghost of a smirk danced on her full lips and she shrugged.

"I suppose you are right," she said, touching her belly. "I also suppose I could make it my business, yes?"

Ichigo continued to frown as she left the kitchen. What the hell did she mean by that? He took a sip of his drink, suddenly having a horrible taste in his mouth. Grimmjow walked into the kitchen a few moments later, smiling. His smile faded once he took in the murderous aura surrounding the orange-haired teen.

"Uhh, what's wrong, Ichi?" he asked. Ichigo's frown lessened a bit before he shook his head.

"Nothing, Grimm," he replied. He managed a smile as Grimmjow kissed his cheek. "So, what'd she say?"

"She's going to keep it," Grimmjow responded. Ichigo could tell that he was barely containing his excitement. It was nice to see Grimmjow so happy.

"That's great! Now how about that lunch? I'm starving."

He decided to keep Tier's - whatever that was - to himself for now. No need to worry over things that had no relevancy. Plus, Grimmjow seemed to be in a great mood, and he didn't want to ruin that. He figured she was just trying to make him nervous. What could she do anyways?


After lunch, Grimmjow dropped Ichigo off at Renji's house. Ichigo was supposed to be tutoring his tattooed friend in history. After sharing a kiss - or seven - Ichigo got out of Grimmjow's Phantom and started the two block walk to Renji's. Once he was there, he rang the doorbell and a few moments later, Renji answered. He did not look happy.

"What's up, dude?"

"Inside," Renji said, yanking Ichigo by the front of his shirt. He pushed the orange-head until they were in his room, and he closed and locked the door behind them. Ichigo was confused to say the very least.

"What the hell, man?" he asked as Renji sat down on his bed. The redhead stared at him seriously, making him a little nervous. Ichigo sat down on the floor. "C'mon man, what is it?"

"I have something very important to tell you."

"Okay, then tell me."

"Byakuya is a friend of Grimmjow's. And he told me. . .that Grimmjow's ex-girlfriend is pregnant." Ichigo resisted the urge to laugh. It was nice to see that his friend was so concerned for him. He just shook his head.

"It's alright, Ren; I already know," he said, and Renji frowned.

"So what is he gonna do about it? What's he gonna do about you? Does she know about you?"

"She knows about me, but she doesn't know the extent of my relationship with Grimmjow. Grimmjow is going to take care of his baby, and I'm going to be there for him as long as he wants me."

Renji just sat staring at his orange-haired best friend incredulously. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

"You caught feelings, didn't you?" A blush spread slowly across Ichigo's high cheekbones, and Renji sighed. "Damn. This is a first for you; I should write a book, Ichi Feels a Feel." Ichigo laughed at that.

"Well, maybe you should. I've never felt this way about anyone, you know? I mean, I don't know, there's just. . .something about him."

"He's got a big dick?" Renji asked out of curiosity. Ichigo's eyes widened and his blush intensified.

"I wouldn't know, I haven't seen it."

"Seriously? How long have you guys been talking?"

"That doesn't matter, Ren. Relationships don't always have to revolve around sex."

"Yeah, because you've been in sooo many relationships, Ich."

"Eat my ass, dickwad."

"Not without ketchup."

The boys shared a laugh. After a while, Renji sobered, giving Ichigo one of his knowing gazes that made the younger of the two a little nervous. Renji could be a real idiot, but he could also be extremely wise. Ichigo frowned a bit as Renji continued to stare at him.

"What?" he asked, irritated by his friend's sudden silence.

"Are you sure you're ready for something like this, Ichi?" Renji asked, solemnly. Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "I mean, we're just kids ourselves. What are you gonna do when the baby comes?"

"Well, I helped my mom and dad take care of Karin and Yuzu when they were babies. And it isn't like Grimmjow will know what to do either. We'll work together; I want to be with him, Ren, and this baby is a part of him. I'll do whatever it takes to keep us together."

Renji seemed surprised by Ichigo's answer, but the orangehead couldn't imagine why. Maybe it was because Renji hadn't ever heard him speak about another person that way.

"Well that seems like a plausible answer; what I find implausible is the fact that you've been talking to this guy for what, three months? And you haven't talked about sex once, even though that's what he's supposed to be paying you for."

"Well, we. . ." Ichigo debated internally on whether he wanted to tell Renji about the first time he and Grimmjow ever spoke on the phone. He felt his face heating up as he continued. ". . .we kind of had phone sex the first time we spoke to each other."

"Ewwwwwww! Seriously? Oh man, that's gross, bruh!" Renji exclaimed as he started to laugh. Ichigo sat up to punch him in his shin. "Ouch, dude! But you guys really haven't done anything past that?"

"No. Are you telling me that you and Byakuya had sex before you turned eighteen?" Ichigo asked. Renji waved him off.

"Peanut gallery, man. I'm actually impressed. Grimmjow isn't exactly hard to look at, if you know what I mean," he said, winking at Ichigo. The orange head rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wondered why he was still friends with Renji. Then he remembered that the guy had the potential to be awesome at times; it also helped that he could give really good advice when he wasn't being a total butthead.

"Hey, uh. . .do you think it's a bad idea? Me staying with Grimm?" Ichigo asked nervously. Renji pondered the question for a bit before he answered.

"No. We've been friends for how long, Ichi? Since like fetuses? Is that the right word? Or is it feti? Nah, that doesn't sound right. . ."

"You're drifting Ren. It's fetuses; fetus is a Greek word, not Latin. I can see why you asked me to tutor you," Ichigo commented with a laugh. Renji rolled his eyes.

"Regardless, we've been friends for five-ever, and I've never seen you act this way about anyone, not even Shuu when he was here. So if this is what you want, then I say go for it," he said. He reached out his fist and Ichigo bumped it with his own. "Now, are we studying, or nah? If I fail this class, I'm a goner."

"Alright, let's get to it then."


Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for the lateness of this update...I have a job, and they've been working me like a freaking slave because the manager refuses to hire more people with his cheap ass! Ughh, I hate so much that I took so long to get this to you guys, and again, I'm really really sorry...I've been so tired because of work that I sleep most of the day, and then I have to go in at night and sometimes don't get off until midnight...it's a vicious cycle, I swear...but I promise to do my very best to be more on time with this stuff; just please, please be patient with me...thanks a lot for reading:)

Until next time,

Patd06