A/N: Just to clear things up, this story is new. When I said it's surreal writing this after such a long time, I meant for the fandom/the pairing. I last wrote a GrimmIchi-before this one, when I was 18 or 19. I'm 23 now, so. . . Figure it out. :D. . .

Regardless, please enjoy. ^^

P.S: Thank you for the feedback. :)

Chapter Four:

Present day. . .

The door to Ichigo's private hospital room opening does nothing to get a reaction out of Grimmjow. His ears, although out of practice, having already picked up the pattern of footsteps, know without needing to look that it's his Sister, seeming a tad hesitant to approach the bed. He understands why. It was hard for him when he first walked in the room, too. The first time he glanced at Ichigo's unconscious form, all sense of denial left him, as his fears were laid out in front of his face. No amount of pinching himself would wake him from his assumed horrific nightmare, so all he could do at that point was accept the reality of the situation. Even if he would have been much happier remaining blissfully unaware of that truth, there's nothing he can do about that now.

"How's he doing?" Nel asks softly, placing one of her hands on his adjacent shoulder. She gently smoothes over it with care and affection, giving him room to shrug her off if he feels the need to. "The Nurses told me that you haven't left this room. Good thing they have a bathroom in here or I'd be worried."

Grimmjow appreciates her trying to break the ice. Everyone else has tip-toed around him, not sure how to even approach the man in a situation such as this. He can't say that he blames them. When he loses control, there are very few people in this world that can bring him back down to Earth again, and they're both currently in the room with him. Only one of them is awake to take on that role, though.

"No movement," he muffles into Ichigo's assisted rising chest, not willing to lift his head up.

Nel makes a sound at that, pulling up a chair to set herself next to the bed with him. She reaches for the hand holding Ichigo's, laying hers flat over the top of them. It makes sense. Ever since Ichigo entered their lives, the two of them have been the best of friends, and he knows that she's putting on the bravest face that she can for him right now, when she's really just as broken up about it as he is.

"He'll wake up, Grimmy. I have no doubt. Our Ichi is a fighter," she declares, acting as sure of herself as she can be, squeezing the both of them. "All we have to do is make sure that we're here for him when he does."

Grimmjow sniffs, squeezing harder. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Habitats for Humanity or some shit like that?"

The eye roll from his sister is so deep he can almost hear it.

"I volunteered for them for a year, yes, and it was an amazing experience. But, no, I was putting together the final plans for a clients house just minutes before I got the call. I dropped everything and got on the soonest plane that I could."

"You know he wouldn't want you to fuss," Grimmjow says, attempting a cocky smirk, but there's no real heat to it.

Nel rests her head down to make eye-contact with him, their noses merely inches apart. "Then why are you here when you have a big art project due in the next three days?" she teases, poking him in the arm with her finger. "It's for the same reason that I'm here. My job means nothing when someone I care about is hurt."

Silence falls over the room after that. Nel rubs his arm slowly, trying to soothe as little or as much of the ache that she can. Grimmjow can tell that she's at a loss for what to do here, as his Sister has never had the displeasure of seeing him in a state like this. Truthfully, he never imagined that he could ever be this broken by anything. But, here he is, unable to comprehend anything past Ichigo waking up any minute now. That's all he's focused on. That's all he can think about. And as soon as he wakes up, Grimmjow's not sure if the first thing he's going to do is chew the idiot out, or kiss him until his lips are raw from use.

"He'll wake up soon, Grimmy. You know that, right?"

Not wanting to jinx it, Grimmjow says absolutely nothing.

One week after they first met. . .

It's the start of their first session together, and Ichigo is already losing his mind. Every opportunity that Nel can find to apologise for her Brother, she's taken. Without missing a beat, she'll throw in some reason that relates to their past as to why her Brother can act that way, that he's not normally like that with the friends that she's managed to actually keep over the years. Ichigo has expressed to her that he just wants to move past it and start her studies, but it's almost as if she doesn't hear a word he says, throwing out justification after justification, like she won't rest until he's Grimmjow's number one fan or something. To say he's miffed would be too kind a word. He has nothing against Nel at all, and she's clearly one of the sweetest souls on the planet, but this session is not about her Brother. She doesn't owe him anything, and he really would rather not be constantly reminded about the events of the week before.

The dreams are enough of a reminder, thank you very much.

"Nel, I appreciate what you're trying to do," Ichigo cuts her off mid-apology, holding a hand up for good measure, "I've moved on. Now, can we please start your studies?"

Nel blinks sheepishly at him, ducking her head. She looks like someone just told her good ole' Jolly St Nick doesn't exist, and Ichigo finds himself feeling like The Grinch that stole Christmas. How Grimmjow manages to stay so nonchalant is a pure mystery to him. Yuzu and Karin have their ways of getting what they want, but he's never had to deal with a side like this before. Siblings and their goddamned ways of getting their way. Ichigo would like to think that he doesn't do the same at home, and would never if the opportunity presented itself.

"What do you want me to do?" he caves, instantly regretting it when her head lifts enthusiastically, and her eyes sparkle like the fourth of July. "I'm not sure I'm going to like what I'm about to sign up for. . ."

Nel grins almost compassionately, placing both her hands on his shoulders.

"Grimmy will be here in around three hours. Please stay and have dinner with us so that we can work this all out together?"

Ichigo casts his eyes to the side, not wanting to keep up the eye-contact. This is something that he had been hoping to avoid when he got up the nerve to come here today. With each step he made through the walkway, he had been constantly keeping an eye out for a car, or a certain man with a head of shocking blue hair, or a face in the window watching him with that predatory look that he can't seem to get out of his head, no matter how many times he imagines various methods of inducing memory loss, threatening his limbic system.

He had the sense of mind to not disclose any of his dreams to his friends, knowing that it would only bring him more grief. Luckily, they've been busy the past week, and haven't had the chance to even guestimate what's been going through his head lately. Ichigo is certain that if one of them–Renji, in particular–happened to catch even a whiff of the not safe for work fantasies streaming through his mind while he sleeps at night, he would never hear the end of it. He did his best to ignore how attractive Grimmjow is, locking himself in a dark corner of the world labeled denial, so that he doesn't have to deal with the harsh reality that the man who could quite easily infuriate him beyond all measure, could also readily take the top spot of men that Ichigo would be more than willing to sleep with.

Shaking his head to clear the current haze, Ichigo brings his gaze back to Nel. A voice tells him that he should definitely decline, make up some excuse about being busy tonight, or maybe having another client to go and see. He doesn't want to start this journey of theirs lying, though, so he's lost for what to do. Unless something falls into his lap, literally giving him a legitimate reason to turn her down, he's stuck. If only Renji would choose now to croak. That would be good. Ichigo scoffs internally, feeling the slightest bit guilty for thinking that, even if it would be convenient.

When he realises that he's said nothing for a full three minutes, Ichigo finally sighs like he truly doesn't want to do this. This is Nel's last chance to have mercy on him, but he gets the impression that that's not going to happen in this lifetime or the next. She's just staring at him, waiting as patiently as she can for him to agree to her proposal, trusting hazel eyes eagerly anticipating his response. Hopefully, this won't be the death of him.

"Okay," he clips out, looking away from her, "But if he punches me again–"

"He won't, I promise," Nel assures him, bouncing with excitement, "Once you get to know him, he's actually a really nice guy."

Ichigo stops himself from verablising his disapproval at that statement. Nel is only trying to help, for some reason. There's really no reason for himself to become buddy-buddy with the blue-haired asshole, so she needn't bother with all of this. As long as he's not going to physically assault him every time they're in the same room with each other, he can learn to deal with being in the same house as him. They just have to have boundaries, or whatever.

Now that that's out of the way, Ichigo and Nel finally get down to some studying. Over the week, Ichigo did as much research as he could to find out what sort of requirements Nel would need to even be gifted an interview by an interior design company, and they ranged based on the popularity of the company itself, which hadn't been shocking, considering how common that practice is. Ichigo noted down which subjects she would really need to be scoring above average on, what courses she would undertake once she has the grades to do so, and he also developed a timeline for how long this whole process might take, varying from the speed in which Nel is able to progress. He plans to keep track of all of this as each session continues, narrowing down the timeline to the best of his ability. Once he feels that she is ready to take her exams, he will set all of that up for her, and support her all the way to her degree.

Ichigo tries to keep his teaching methods as clear and precise as he can, without unloading too much at a time. Understandably, considering Nel's prior experience with the subjects that he's tutoring her in, patience is going to be the key to success on both of their parts. To her credit, however, she appears to be picking it up rather quickly, to Ichigo's great pride and pleasure. The material that he's opted to begin with isn't so basic that it would put someone to sleep. It's also not too advanced that three minutes are required for each question.

Ichigo points out to Nel midway through a question that she has a penchant for poking to tip of her tongue out when she comes across a problem that actually requires a tad more thought, giving her the appearance of an adorable four year old attempting to understand how popcorn is created. She can't help but blush at the thought of it, visibly putting all of her efforts into negating the embarrassing pose, and failing spectacularly. For the sake of her face getting redder and redder, Ichigo pretends that she's got it under control.

Coming to the end of their tutoring session, Ichigo takes note of Nel starting to decline in her attention to detail. He suspected something like this would be a reoccurring issue for his clients, as they're not used to studying for long periods, or short periods of time. They never really had the chance to accustom themselves to a regular learning environment, therefore lacking the drive to go even more than an hour hitting the books. That's going to be something that they'll work towards in their time together. Ichigo doesn't plan to make her overdo it by any means necessary, as that wouldn't aide her in the slightest, only override her brain before she has a chance to utilise it.

"Last problem, and then you're done for the day, Nel. Remember the formula, okay? You've got this," Ichigo champions her encouragingly, that pride in her from earlier granting a warm feeling in his stomach. He had his ideas that this line of work, although challenging, would give him the job satisfaction that he's been craving, and that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from experiencing all of this unabashed pride for his clients. Watching them make that first step towards getting that education that they missed out on, and really working for it, fills him with such a sense that he's chosen the right path in life, that it validates all he's done leading up to this moment. He can't wait to watch his clients bloom before his eyes, and achieve what they never thought they would be able to without the proper education to do so.

Nel sighs with relief when she finishes the final problem, grinning up at Ichigo excitedly, resting her pen down on top of the paper. She stretches her arms over her head, playing with the curls of her hair as she brings them back to her sides, clearly a little exhausted after all that really having to think.

"How do you feel?" Ichigo asks, already pretty confident of the answer.

"A little wiped," Nel admits, rubbing her eyes, "I'm sorry if I took so long."

"You didn't. You did great, really," he assures her, accepting the hug that she gives him. When she pulls away, she asks if he would like a drink that she will actually get for him this time without delay. Ichigo laughs at that, standing briefly to stretch his legs, "That would be great, thank you."

Nel nods, motioning with her hand for him to follow. She starts dragging him with her when he takes more than a few seconds to start moving of his own accord, telling him that study time is over and they get to hang out now. Ichigo feigns disappointment, rewarding him with a comment about being a huge dork from the woman. Although he had been reluctant to be friend's with his first client, he's envisioning a future where they're still close even after all of this is over, so he banters with her for a bit as she makes him a drink. She tells him about why she has no friends, since he's clearly been dying to ask from the moment he found out. To be clear, he hadn't–he's too respectful a person to dabble in someone else's personal business. So, beyond curiosity, he never gave it much thought. Nel seems like she wants to tell him, though, so he allows her to, over coffee.

"Grimmjow scares off your friends a lot," Ichigo comments several minutes later when Nel finishes detailing events that have ended with her friends refusing to ever see her again if he's going to be there, "Why don't you just not introduce him if he's what scares them away?" he queries, doing his absolute damndest not to sound like an ass about the whole thing.

Nel lowers her head at that, focusing on a spot on the ground, "Because me and Grimmjow are a package deal. If you don't like one of us, you can't have either of us," she explains, not the least bit hesitant. A small uncomfortable silence falls between them, neither of them sure how to break it. It's obviously a touchy subject, and Ichigo can't help but admire Nel for remaining so loyal after all of these years. She's probably the only person that keeps Grimmjow from attacking random people on the streets or something. Ichigo internally snorts at his own theory, imagining Nel somehow managing to pull an adrenaline-fueled blue-haired asshole off of some unsuspecting fool. Somehow that just seems very unlikely to him.

Nel does eventually say something a few minutes later, asking if Ichigo will help her with dinner. He checks his watch for the time, giving her a look that says it's far too early to start cooking. She just shrugs, telling him that she wants this dinner to be perfect. Not sure how well that's going to turn out for her, Ichigo decides not to comment on it for now, assisting her in setting up the prep. It's not until halfway through that he realises that he's practically cooking dinner for that arrogant jerk who's supposed to be here in about forty-five minutes. Well, he could always add some extra touches to Grimmjow's plate, if the first thing that comes out of his gor–stupid mouth is an insult. Ichigo already expressed that he's not planning to take that sitting down anymore, and he more than intends on not making a liar of himself on that front.

As they work towards preparing dinner, Nel and Ichigo talk about everything and nothing. Ichigo tells her stories of his adventures with his friends, leaving out the parts that could possibly make her feel worse about her situation. She laughs at some of the shit that they've gotten up to over the years, stating that she thinks she would definitely fit in with them somewhere. Ichigo has no doubt about that–it's her Brother that he's concerned about. If it's both of them or nothing, then Ichigo will seriously have to give it some crucial thought before ever allowing them to meet his friends. From the word go, he's positive that Renji will do something to get under Grimmjow's skin, as that's a habit of the redhead, which Ichigo will be left to sort out, with the help of Nel, obviously. They'll both be handlers in that situation–neither of them getting paid enough for a huge pain-in-the-ass like that scenario.

As they continue to get to know each other better, the time for Grimmjow's supposed arrival quickly approaches. They've got everything prepared for dinner. Nel set the table a few minutes ago while Ichigo added the finishing touches to the meal–just a few spices here and there. And yes, he checked to see if that asshole had any allergies that he should know about. He's not sure if he was happy or sad when Nel informed him that Grimmjow wasn't allergic to anything. There goes his death-by-poison plan, then. What a shame. Shrugging off his sudden homicidal tendencies, Ichigo starts plating up, stepping out of the way when Nel leans past him to grab something from one of the cupboards, complimenting the aroma of the dish as she heads back out to the table, looking for all the world like she needed to pee twelve hours ago. Clearly, she's more anxious about this than she originally let on.

As soon as he hears a door opening from what must be the porch, Ichigo tenses. There's no chance for him to duck out of this now. Grimmjow is in the house. No turning back now that he's already agreed to it, and it's not like he has the powers of invisibility to get out of this one unscathed. Ichigo sighs and shakes his head to clear it, pushing himself off the kitchen island to move towards the table. It's not like he has to go out there and welcome the guy home or something. Nel is already seeing to that, and it's not like he would if she didn't, anyway. There's a noise of displeasure from the other room, and Ichigo believes that the blue-haired maniac hadn't been warned about Nel's scheme before he left the house this morning, if the curse that follows is anything to go by. To his credit, he tries not to tune in on what's going, but can't seem to help himself.

"I'll eat in my study, Nel. I don't have time for this," Grimmjow says, sounding thoroughly annoyed by the situation that he's walked in to, unprepared.

"It's just dinner, Grimmy. All you have to do is sit there and eat, maybe talk a little. It's not that hard," Nel retorts, and Ichigo can imagine her pouting at him like she did in the car, "Besides, Ichigo agreed to it. You owe it to him after breaking his nose."

"I fixed it, didn't I?" Grimmjow shoots back, his tone riddled with impatience, "I'm sure he'd be out that door if he really had a choice in the fucking matter."

"Come on, I really like this guy. He's so nice and he's really helping me with my studies, and–"

"Marry him, then," Grimmjow spits, apparently ready for this to be over, "You have my blessing if that's what you fucking want. Geez, Nel–Just–"

"Summer of twenty-ten, Grimmy."

There's a silence that falls over the siblings, squabble on hold while they work out between them whatever that date means. It must have some kind of string attached to it, as Ichigo's sure he detects Grimmjow sighing in a way that wonders if Nel is really going to go there.

"We're even after this," he growls, and something clatters to the ground, "Go sit with your boyfriend. I need to get changed."

Nel slinks back in to the room, looking torn between whether or not she made the right decision to use that.

"Well, he'll be down soon, so. . . Drink?"

Ichigo's not one of those people that has to have a drink every day of the week. Sure, it might just be two or three, but he would like to think that he's not so dependent that he would need to experience the buzz of alcohol at some point during the day just to get by in life. The last time he had a drink at dinner, he was with a friend, there to support them after the funeral of one of their family members. They didn't want a party, just a drink with dinner, as that's something the deceased in question would partake in on a daily basis. The point is, he doesn't drink at dinner.

"Got anything stronger than coffee?"

A/N: What do you think is going to happen at dinner? ;D