A/N: Here's chapter 5 :D And I have to ask: don't you just love how Spike has nicknames for almost everyone? I do! Like Dawn being "lil' bit" or "nibblet". Usually I ship Spike/Xander, but since that's impossible here (for obvious reasons), he's being shipped with Buffy, my second fav to ship him with ;) Anyway, I've got one reviewer (thank you sunshinekc) who wants me to go for the Dawn/Renji pairing, so unless people disagree, that's going to happen ;)

This chapter will be slightly longer than usual. I either had to cut it a bit short or cut it at a later point, and I assumed you'd rather read a longer chapter than a shorter one, so enjoy ;)

Chapter 5

When school was over a few days later, Dawn tried to get a hold of Ichigo. Actually, she'd tried to catch his attention all day, but he seemed kind of lost in thought. Now was her last chance to catch him today. She quickly caught up with him and grabbed his arm.
"Hey, I wanted to speak with you. I've been trying to get a hold of you all day!" she exclaimed. The orange haired boy looked at her with a frown she'd come to realize was very typical of him.
"I was hoping we'd be able to get together to work on that project for English class after school someday soon. It's due next Friday, so we still have a week, but I think it would be nice to have a head start," she explained. Ichigo nodded.
"I guess you're right… I'm free today. How about you?" he asked. Dawn smiled and nodded.
"So, your place or mine?" Ichigo wondered. It didn't really make much of a difference to him, as his family was out anyway. Dawn thought for a while before answering.
"I think your place would be better. We're kind of a big group living together at my place, so I don't think we'd get much work done," she finally said. Ichigo smiled at her and gestured towards the sidewalk.
"Fine, follow me then," he said and led the way back home.

They entered the house, and Dawn nearly forgot to remove her shoes before entering, remembering just in time as she noticed Ichigo removing his. She followed him into the living room and they sat down by the table to get to work. The assignment was to find a song in English, translate it and find some information about the singer or band performing it. Pretty simple for them, considering they had the advantage of a native English speaker.

They had been working for a while when the door was opened and a boy passed them, going into the kitchen. Dawn looked questioningly towards Ichigo who just shrugged.
"That's Grimmjow. He lives with me for now," He explained. That seemed to turn on a light switch for Dawn and she nodded in understanding.
"Oh, I see. Good for you two," she smiled. Ichigo looked confused for a while until he blushed heavily.
"It's nothing like that!" he exclaimed. "He just doesn't have a place to stay for now, so I let him live here," Dawn blushed now. A bit embarrassed that she'd jumped to conclusions.
"I'm so sorry! I just thought…"
"It's ok, Dawn. Let's just get this work over and done with," the orange head smiled at her and they resumed working.

In the kitchen Grimmjow had been searching for something to drink when he'd overheard their conversation. He'd smirked when Ichigo had become flustered and nearly barked out a laugh. But something felt a bit off. The voice of the girl sounded eerily familiar… It was only when Ichigo let her name slip that he finally recognized her. Dawn. He nearly dropped the glass of water in his hands as he took a peek and saw the same girl he'd known back when he was still alive. Cussing slightly, he quickly moved upstairs.

Ichigo had heard the muffled cussing and wondered what that was all about. He and Dawn finished up for the day and Dawn quickly said goodbye, leaving to go back home to her apartment. Ichigo quickly moved up to his room only to see Grimmjow sitting there and running his hand through his blue locks.
"What was that all about?" Ichigo asked warily. Grimmjow looked at him and sighed.
"That girl… she was Dawn wasn't she? Dawn Summers?" Ichigo blinked in surprise and nodded.
"Thought so…" the blue haired arrancar simply said.
"How…"
"do I know? She and her sister, along with their group of friends are from USA. Sunnydale, California, to be specific" Ichigo looked confused.
"Ichigo… They used to be my friends. Back when I was alive. Her sister, Buffy, along with Willow, were my best friends…" Grimmjow explained. Ichigo pulled back, inwardly berating himself for yet again forgetting that Grimmjow had had a human life before becoming a hollow. He looked at the blue haired arrancar and saw the hurt hiding behind a mask of anger.
"If she used to be a friend of yours… shouldn't you try to contact her?" he suggested, placing a hand on the other's shoulder.
"I mean, she's obviously in town…"
"Are you crazy?" Grimmjow rolled his eyes at the teen.
"Think for a sec. Have you seen any of your shinigami pals contact their former friends? I'm dead, Ichigo!" Ichigo pulled back. Thinking for a minute. Suddenly he rushed over to his backpack, rummaging through it. Finally finding what he was looking for, he pulled out a piece of paper. Studying it intently, looking from Grimmjow to it and back, he slowly passed it to the other.

"What?" Grimmjow said as he grabbed the piece of paper. He let his eyes wander across the image printed on it and had to hold back a stunned gasp.
"Where… How did you get this?" he asked.
"Dawn gave it to me on her first day of school. She asked me if I had seen this guy… Grimmjow…" Ichigo explained and looked at Grimmjow with a very serious expression.
"Is it possible that this guy is… your brother?" he asked. Grimmjow blinked, and then blinked again, before bursting into a hysterical laughter.
"What's so funny?" Ichigo asked, slightly annoyed.
"You idiot, I have never had any siblings! I was an only child. That is a picture of me before I died!" Grimmjow said.

Ichigo was stunned; he picked up the photo again and studied it… The boy in the photo had the same wide grin as Grimmjow, though without the malice, and while the eye- and hair colors were different, the facial features and the general appearance was close to identical. However, the teenager in the picture appeared genuinely happy, and could look like someone who never took anything seriously… Ichigo had a hard time picturing Grimmjow like that.
"But if you died… why are they still looking for you? I mean… It's not like they would know you were a hollow or anything…" as Ichigo uttered this sentence Grimmjow did something very uncharacteristic. He looked sullen. It was as if someone had switched on a light in Ichigo's mind.
"They… they don't know, do they?" he said. Grimmjow shook his head.
"Nah, my dad told them I'd skipped town, and they believed him…" he confessed. Inwardly cursing himself for letting out information about his dad.
"What, so your dad knew? Why wouldn't he tell your friends then? Was he that upset?" Ichigo wondered. Grimmjow didn't know whether he should laugh or cry
"Heh, upset, yeah right," he smirked before frowning again. His eyes got a faraway look as he spaced out. Once more recalling what happened. He subconsciously moved a hand to his abdomen, where the wound that killed him had been.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo gently probed for information. He was curious, but failed to realize that a father could harm his son to the point where the son would die.
"Do I need to spell it out for you?" Grimmjow growled.
"My father, Tony, killed me," he nearly yelled. Grabbing Ichigo and looking him sternly in the eyes to make him understand he ground out
"He was drunk, as always, broke a bottle and shoved it in my stomach! I watched, as a spirit, as he buried my body in the backyard and lied to everyone! They couldn't see me, probably 'cause of the hellmouth… I… I… Fuck" he choked and fell to his knees. Years' worth of memories and emotions came back to him, and he did something he had thought he'd never do. He cried. Tears began running down his face. The hurt and pain he'd hidden all his life, and then forgotten as he became a hollow, came back tenfold as he finally let it out. He'd spent so long hiding behind the mask of a clown, then as a violent hollow…

Ichigo watched in wonder as the so strong arrancar, the sexta espada, broke down crying in front of him. The angry sobs of pain spoke volumes, and though Ichigo couldn't even come close to knowing the pain of having a father do something like that, he still stayed. He kneeled in front of Grimmjow and tentatively wrapped his arms around him, pouring as much comfort into that one embrace as he could. For a second he feared the hollow would react violently. Instead he was shocked to find the blue haired man wrapping his arms around Ichigo's torso, holding on as if he was a lifeline. Ichigo's hand found its way to Grimmjow's blue locks, and he gently and comfortingly dragged his hand through it.

Grimmjow let the boy comfort him, and as the flow of tears stilled he began to feel drowsy. Ichigo's gentle stroking of his hair lulled him to sleep. He never even noticed that he was falling asleep in the hands of a shinigami who had formerly been his rival.

When Dawn got back home she could see Buffy sleeping on the couch, in the lap of Spike. Said vampire turned his head and looked at her as she removed her shoes before entering the living room.
"'Ello nibblet. Slayer's just a bit tired from patrolling and stuff. How'd the study session go?" he asked while he carefully removed the sleeping slayer from his lap and walked over to the girl.
"It was ok. We got some work done. I kinda messed up though…" she admitted sheepishly.
"How so?" he asked.
"Well… apparently there's another guy living with him, and I sorta jumped to conclusions… I practically called them a couple," she explained. The vampire laughed.
"Well done, lil' bit. If they are a couple, you just made sure they'd try harder to hide it," he snickered. Dawn blushed and pouted.
"Geez, sorry," she grumbled as Spike kept snickering.
"I'm going out to smoke a fag… That is to say a cigarette, lil' bit, so don't go getting any ideas," he winked. She stuck out her tongue at him before moving into the kitchen to grab something to eat.

When she was done eating she walked to the apartment of Giles, where him, Willow and Tara were currently trying to pinpoint Xander and find out more about the creatures Buffy had seen.
"How's the research going?" she asked with a smile.
"Still nothing. We can't seem to pinpoint him, it's as if something's interfering with the searching spells… Like a powerful warding charm… a strong aura or possibly even some form of otherworldly interference…" Giles said as he perused his books once more.
"We can't find anything about that masked creature Buffy saw either… I've never heard of anything like it," Willow continued. Dawn nodded in understanding.
"I suppose Buffy's going out on patrol again tonight… Wanna watch a movie? Or maybe you're going out with your new school friends?" Tara asked.
"No, I don't think they're doing anything this weekend. I'd love to watch a movie… Maybe tomorrow we could all go to the cinema and I could invite my friends!" Dawn answered enthusiastically.
"That sounds like a good idea… but maybe Sunday will be better. That way they can get some time to prepare and see if they can afford it" Tara suggested. Dawn nodded.
"Yeah. We'll do that! I'll call them tomorrow and see if they're interested!" she said before going over to the TV, looking through the movies available in the shelves next to it.

Waking up the next morning Grimmjow felt warmer than he had in quite a while. Moving his body to be closer to the source of the heat, his half-sleeping mind didn't quite register what it was, but felt that it was comfy and warm. He let out a near purr as an arm wrapped around him and pulled him even closer. He could feel the other's breath on his cheek and the embrace was so comforting and pleasant. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times in confusion. His face was nearly pressed into Ichigo's. Nearly jumping to get away, he accidentally pulled Ichigo along halfway out of the bed. The orange haired teenager opened his eyes sleepily as he looked around with confusion.
"What the…?" he got up and looked at Grimmjow, currently lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. The blue haired boy got up and embarrassedly dragged a hand through his hair. Seeing the slight tint of redness on the other's cheeks, Ichigo chuckled lightly. Ignoring the pointed glare sent his way he looked at the bedside watch and did a double take.
"Shit! I'm late," he exclaimed and began frantically getting ready for school. Grimmjow let him fry for a while before commenting.
"You are aware that it's weekend, right?" he casually said with a raised brow. Ichigo blinked a few times before tossing a book at the former espada.
"You couldn't have said so a little earlier?" he frowned. Grimmjow simply smirked.
"Now, that wouldn't be any fun, would it?"

Grimmjow helped Ichigo around the house. Laundry, dishes and such. All of it was stuff he had done back when he was alive, and as such it really was no problem. When he had joined Ichigo on a trip to get groceries he'd gotten strange looks, some people seemed to be afraid of him, while others, mainly teenagers, looked at him like he was the coolest thing ever. It was very different from what he could remember teenagers to be like. He'd always been the zeppo, the loser, the one people picked on, and the comic relief. He noticed people looked at Ichigo in much the same way. Some girls with adoring stares. Grimmjow felt a tingle of jealousy and possessiveness at the back of his mind, but chose to ignore it.

Carrying some bags of groceries he and Ichigo walked together past Dawn and company.
"Oh, Ichigo! Hi," the girl said. Ichigo smiled at her and replied.
"This is my big sister, Buffy. And these are Giles, Xan-… Willow and Tara" they both saw how Dawn caught herself after nearly slipping up. Clearly it hadn't yet been long enough for her to get used to him not being there. Ichigo looked them over and gave them a polite nod.
"I'm Ichigo, and this is my… friend, Grimmjow," he stated. Grimmjow nodded, his hands being occupied with carrying the bags.
"Yo," he simply said, trying to avoid their gaze. He doubted they'd recognize him, but he wasn't willing to take any chances. Buffy frowned and studied his blue hair.
"That's some interesting hair colors you guys have… You dye it, right?" she asked with a raised brow.
"No! It's natural" Ichigo quickly said, somewhat annoyed that even this girl thought he dyed his hair.
"His too?" she gestured towards Grimmjow, skepticism heavy in her voice.
"Ye- No! Of course not! Who has blue hair?" he nervously laughed it off. Grimmjow looked slightly insulted, but refrained from commenting, and instead opted for giving Ichigo a dirty look. Dawn looked like she suddenly remembered something.
"Oh! By the way, Ichigo, do you want to go to the movies with us tomorrow? We're planning on inviting the others too, though we don't know what movie to watch yet," she exclaimed.
"Your friend's free to come as well," she added quickly with a smile directed at Grimmjow.
"Sure, I'm up for it. What about you Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked, a little bit worried about how the arrancar would react.
"Sure, sounds like fun," he answered.
"Anyway, we should get going. Some of this has to be put in the fridge quickly," Ichigo said.
"But it was nice meeting you all. See you later, Dawn," he stated as they left.

Buffy and the gang remained standing there.
"Was it just me, or was there something oddly familiar about that blue haired guy?" she asked. The rest of them nodded.
"Yeah, but you'd think we'd remember a guy with blue hair and green tattoos under his eyes!" Willow stated. They shrugged it off and moved along in their search for a magic-shop in this town.

As they re-entered the house Grimmjow and Ichigo quickly put away the groceries and sat down in the couch.
"They really didn't recognize me…" Grimmjow exclaimed after an awkward silence. He'd honestly not expected much, but the fact that they didn't seem to recognize him at all really felt… odd.
"I don't know what I expected, but…" he shrugged and Ichigo gave him a sympathetic look. While he had never experienced anything remotely similar, he could only imagine the shock and pain at seeing your friends not even recognize you when you're standing right in front of them. Grimmjow laughed dryly.
"You know, I used to keep a lot of secrets from them… They never even knew… Buffy was the hero, Willow her best friend, the light witch. Dawn was the little sister, Giles the mentor, Angel was the bad boy gone good for a while, until Spike took over that part… that left me… the loser," he shook his head lightly and dragged a hand through his hair.
"I was the one who had no powers. The only one who was a normal human. And I just didn't want their pity, so I never told them about the bad stuff in my life…" He shrugged again.
"I don't know why I'm telling you this. I guess it doesn't really matter," he eventually said. Ichigo grabbed his hand as he was about to walk away.
"If you want to talk, I'm willing to listen… I want to be here for you, Grimmjow," he said. The blue haired arrancar looked at him, surprise evident in his eyes.
"You'd… but why? I tried to kill you… We're supposed to be enemies and you've already done so much for me… Why?" he wondered.
"You came here, not looking for a fight, with nowhere to go… I guess I'm a fool, but I can't just leave someone like that. No matter who they are. Besides, most of my friends were once my enemies. It doesn't matter. It's the past," the strawberry explained.
"You're not like the others, that's for sure," Grimmjow laughed. "But I'll humor you. As I was saying, I kept a lot of secrets from my friends," he sat back down in the couch.
"My home life was my biggest secret. I don't know how I managed to hide it from Willow, since we were friends since kindergarten, but I did. My father was a deadbeat and a drunk, and my mother was almost as bad, but much more cowardly. He got aggressive when drinking and usually took it out on me. I was never the son he wished for, not the strongest, fastest or most athletic boy. He had been a jock. The star of his school's football-team. I never cared for it… and thus he never cared for me. At first it was just verbal abuse, and sometimes neglect. Sometimes, when mother was drinking as bad as he was, they'd forget to feed me. I got by though, as I learned to hide away any food I could find and eat it when they forgot me. Then when I didn't want to get into any sports he started to get more physical. He'd punch and slap me around. Usually he'd hit places that were easy to hide, but sometimes he got careless. I usually came up with solid excuses though. When I became a teen he got rougher, and I struggled to hide the marks he left. I'd always pray for a way to hide it, fucking stupid I was, believed it was my own fault… I guess, the phrase "careful what you wish for" applied more than usual when living on the hellmouth, 'cause I got my wish. No one noticed the bruises, scars or wounds any more. My dad and I were the only ones who saw them… You already know how I died, so you'll know he wasn't too careful about what he did to me," the arrancar drew a shuddering breath. Talking about this was harder than he'd thought it would be, but now that he'd started he simply couldn't stop it.
"of course, the reason I kept other secrets tied in with my dad. I was into girls… and boys. Dad caught me staring at a man once, and the following beating nearly killed me. He'd have no fag for a son, thank you very much," he snarled.
"like he could change anything. I tried so hard to be a normal, straight guy. But nothing I did would please him. I had to keep this a secret too, so he'd never find out. I had a crush on my best friend, Jesse, for years, before he was turned into a vampire and I had to stake him… For a while I blamed Buffy for his death, but I hid it. That was another secret. But I had to keep my pain to myself. I had to be there for the others as they fell. I saw more than anyone realized because... nobody were watching me,"

Ichigo looked at him with understanding. Sympathy and caring shone from his face, yet no pity, and for that Grimmjow was thankful. The orange haired boy surprised him once more, as he drew him into a comforting embrace.
"I admit, I struggle to imagine anyone harming you like that. You're so strong now. And I suppose, as you lived through that and still supported your friends… you always were strong. Anyone who failed to see that must have been blind. I was wrong about you. You're probably one of the bravest and most self-sacrificing people I know," he said. Grimmjow felt his eyes moisten, but refused to cry again in front of the shinigami.
"I was turned into a hollow though… and forgot who I used to be… I have killed, maimed and fed on other souls, with glee and pleasure…" he said. Ichigo raised his head with a hand.
"Yet, here you are. Not harming any human… Have you ever killed a living human? A person who you knew was perfectly innocent?" as the blue haired hollow shook his head Ichigo smiled.
"But that doesn't matter… I'm not a nice person, Ichigo. I'm not like you or Buffy. I'm not a hero," Ichigo shook his head.
"That doesn't matter to me" he said and pressed his lips against the other's. Grimmjow remained still; eyes wide open in shock, before he let himself go and answered the kiss. They pulled apart quickly and looked at each other. Both had slightly red cheeks, though the kiss had only lasted a few seconds.

"Why would you…?" Grimmjow didn't know how to phrase his question, but Ichigo caught on.
"It felt right," he simply said. "Why? Didn't you like it?" he asked, half joking. Grimmjow grinned mischievously.
"'course I did. But maybe we can do a little better than that," he smirked and caught the teenager's lips in a much harsher and more intense kiss. Ichigo was the wide eyed one this time, but that didn't last for long as he quickly got caught up in the rhythm of the kiss. They parted briefly for air before diving in again. Ichigo nipped slightly at the hollow's lower lip and Grimmjow inhaled sharply, parting his lips slightly. Ichigo seized the opportunity and slipped his tongue in.

The two were so caught up in their kiss, they nearly didn't notice the knocking on the door. Well, it was more of a thudding really. Breaking apart they looked towards the door. Ichigo got up and opened, only to find a dirty looking plush-lion.
"Kon?" he said. The lion glared at him and began shouting about how Yuzu had tried to smuggle him along with her, but he'd been stuck in the car instead and when he finally got out he'd had to get all the way back on his own. Ichigo grabbed the annoying mod-soul and tossed him inside before shutting the door again.
"I was wondering where he was," the orange haired boy muttered. Grimmjow simply blinked in confusion as he picked up the stuffed animal.
"The hell is this?" he asked while shaking it slightly.
"That's Kon. He's a mod-soul… an artificial soul that can be put in my body while I'm in shinigami-form," Ichigo explained quickly. Kon stared at the blue haired one for a while before his eyes widened.
"H-h-hollow!" he exclaimed and began wiggling to get free from the arrancar's grip. Ichigo rolled his eyes and took the plush away from Grimmjow.
"It's ok. He's alright. He doesn't work for Aizen… anymore," he said. Kon still glared at the hollow, but didn't say anything more.

Going to bed that evening, Grimmjow found himself tossing and turning in his makeshift bed. Unable to fall asleep. Ichigo had fallen asleep almost immediately, lying in his bed with his blanket covering him. Grimmjow eventually sighed and looked at the boy. He looked so peaceful and so tempting. Giving in to his instincts, the arrancar crawled into Ichigo's bed with him. Settling down he felt the orangette wrapping his arms around him in his sleep. The bed wasn't wide, so they had to lie very close together to fit, yet it somehow calmed Grimmjow down, and he was finally able to sleep.