Whoo-hoo! Almost done! I'm so glad to be cutting back on fics, keeping them all together is confusing at times. ;p

Grimmjow: She's less than sane.

Shiro: That's why she's my protege! She can't take after me unless she were a little psycho! =D

Ichigo: Unfortunately, we're the victims of her psychotic tendancies. =(

Grimmjow and Shiro: ... Oh yeah. T^T

Part 21- The Truth and a Reward

He was in serious pain, but he didn't mind one bit. As he lay on his stomach, sprawled across a futon in one of Kisuke's guest rooms, Ichigo sits beside him. He has questions, yet he knows this isn't the time for them. There has been a huge shift in power throughout the evolved gargoyle clans, something massive and life changing. The teal haired male wishes the Manhattan clan were here, yet the sun started coming up soon after Nell was finished reprimanding Grimmjow's lack of control in battle. They retired to the mansion and Kisuke asked for Ichigo and Grimmjow to join him and the Visoreds for dinner. Now, the two are in their room and waiting for the salves the shopkeeper just went to collect.

"Do you hurt badly?" Ichigo asks.

"Kind of… Nelliel doesn't pull punches when she's mad at you," Grimmjow sighs.

Truth be told, he came out of his fight with Aizen fairly unscathed… it was the 'reprimanding' afterward that injured him the most. Ichigo places petite hands on his back, slowly and carefully rubbing knots and kinks from his shoulders. The dominant male groans in satisfaction, a purr vibrating against his female's fingertips.

"I'm glad Aizen is gone," Ichigo mutters bitterly. "He… our egg was… Why?"

"Ichigo, sometimes things happen that you just can't control," Grimmjow sighs. "It's not your fault and it's not my fault, Aizen was the one that did it. He paid for it, but that won't bring our egg back… we'll just have to make another someday."

"… Today?"

"Uh… how about we wait until it happens on its own?" Grimmjow offers.

The door opens and Kisuke walks in, kneeling beside Grimmjow and across from Ichigo. As he works the salves into the teal haired gargoyle's back and wraps some of the more brutal injuries from Nelliel's claws, he gives Ichigo a curious glance.

"Ichigo?" he starts.

"Yes?"

"… How do I start… um… You know, I knew your parents. They were very nice people," he ventures. "Your mother… you look just like her."

"Just cut to the chase or you'll lose his interest," Grimmjow murmurs. "You have to be blunt with him or you won't get anywhere."

"… Just like his mother," Kisuke chuckles. "Then I guess I should just say… I'm your father, Ichigo."

The orangette just stares at him a moment, looking down to see Grimmjow's expression… he knows the other isn't lying. Carefully, Kisuke goes through the same story he told Grimmjow. Ichigo listens quietly, head tilted to one side in a feline manner.

"After Byakuya's fight with Yamamoto, he told me that the old man actually killed your parents," he sigh sadly. "Yamamoto had tipped the Visoreds off to the Espada's planned attack that never came, so he could have the opportunity to destroy your parents. He stole your egg after killing Masaki… she was on her way to me. I didn't know she had her egg, I thought you were destroyed along with her. I'm so sorry."

"… It's okay," Ichigo states softly. "I just can't believe all this… all the time I've wasted listening to my mother's murderer."

"I'll just… give you time with your mate, okay?" Kisuke smiles minutely. "I understand this isn't something one can take in so easily, you probably need time."

He stands and hesitantly pats Ichigo on the head before leaving, the orangette following and clicking the lock once the door is shut. Grimmjow sighs happily, but stiffens at the sound of the door locking. He opens a single eye to look in Ichigo's direction, the smaller male grinning from ear to ear.

"… What are you doing?" he asks suspiciously.

"I'm spending time with my mate."

"Ichi, I'm really sore," Grimmjow frowns. "I don't think…"

"I'm spending time… with my mate," Ichigo hisses more forcefully.

Grimmjow groans, but says nothing more. After a moment, he's pushed onto his back and Ichigo is straddling his hips. He doesn't mind the affection from his lover, as he was afraid Ichigo would turn into himself and refuse being touched. To find the complete opposite happening just makes his day.

"I love you," Ichigo purrs.

"I love you, too."

Ichigo leans down and locks their lips together, Grimmjow's hands immediately moving to grip his uke's firm ass. He kneads the muscle there, slipping his tongue into the orangette's mouth to explore a cavern he already knows. Ichigo sits back up and slips his shirt off, working on his dominant's pants since he's already discarded his shirt.

"You should slow down," Grimmjow whispers.

"But, Grimm, don't you want your reward?"

"… Reward?"

"For saving me, of course. For getting rid of Aizen," Ichigo grins mischievously.

Well, who is he to say no to that? His own grin turns feral as Ichigo slips his pants down his strong thighs, his member already standing at attention. Ichigo licks the head, sucking on the tip as he moves his own pants off. Grimmjow groans in pleasure, fingers playing in orange locks as Ichigo bobs his head. When he pulls away, he sticks his fingers into his mouth to wet them and slowly prepares himself once he deems them slick enough.

"Oh my god, you're killing me," Grimmjow murmurs in shock.

Ichigo grins at him, crawling up along his frame before stopping to fully seat himself on his lover's rigid length. A hiss erupts from the teal haired male at the tightness enveloping him, but it's morphed into a sharp intake of breath when Ichigo starts to ride him. The orangette moans and cries out as Grimmjow guides him down harshly and strikes his prostate each time, his bottom lip being abused by his teeth as he chews on it. Lust fills Grimmjow eyes as his lover melts before him, his body writhing atop him wantonly as he moans out loud in his ecstasy.

"S-so close," Ichigo murmurs with a whimper. "H-harder!"

Grimmjow rolls them over, bending Ichigo in half as he slams in harder and faster than before. Their bodies glisten in the light of the room, sweat coating them as they exhaust themselves. Finally, Ichigo screams out Grimmjow's name and coats their stomachs in his release. Grimmjow hammers into the smaller male a few more times before emptying himself deep within his lover's core. He's careful to roll them back over so he doesn't crush his smaller mate, Ichigo limp against his chest as they come down from their high.

"I love you, Grimm… can we have another egg now?"

"Ichi, you don't have to have an egg to show me how much you love me," the domineering male sighs. "It's enough to have you right here beside me."

It takes a moment, but soon that brilliant smile is back and Ichigo kisses him.

Sorry, I misinformed you all ^^; There are 22 chapters, not 21. One more chapter!