"What do you think you're doing?

Nel screamed as she dropped the cookie back on to the cooling tray. She turned around and saw Ichigo staring at her with narrow eyes, a playful smirk on his lips. She smiled sheepishly as she watched him step forward to tower over her. She screeched as his large hands pick her up from under her armpits and throw her into the air, only to catch her securely.

"What did I say about those cookies, Nel?" He held her at arm's length, shaking her slightly, as she laughed.

"Dat they're for afta dinna."

"Exactly. And have you had dinner yet?"

She looked down, sucking her bottom lip slightly. "No."

"Then no cookies." Ichigo brought her close to him so that he could rest her on his hip.

"Oh Ichi, just give her a cookie. One cookie won't ruin her appetite."

Ichigo looked over at his blonde friend with narrowed eyes. "Shinji, you've only been here for half an hour and you're already trying to coddle her."

"I can't help it." He stood up and walked towards Ichigo, bending over slightly so he could look at Nel closely. He flicked her nose which caused her to giggle. "She's kinda cute."

"Well, that doesn't mean we need to spoil her." He placed Nel down and ruffled her short green hair. "Go in the living room. I'll call you went dinner's done."

"Haaaai Itsyugo!"

Ichigo sighed as he leaned back against the counter, watching as Nel ran and jumped onto the couch. He liked being around her, he kind of missed being around younger kids. Yuzu and Karin were both fourteen now, so it's not like he could act like this with them. Not that he had when they were younger, since Yuzu was more like a parent than his own dad. It brought out something in Ichigo that he really enjoyed. And plus, it was a great distraction from whatever was currently plaguing his thoughts.

Shinji stared at Ichigo's face. He looked extremely happy, content even; tired, but definitely content. "So, Renji, ne?"

Ichigo sighed, rubbing his palm across his face. "Yeah, he like…followed me here, or something. We talked and I guess we're over."

Shinji nodded his head slowly, leaning against the opposing counter top. "That's a good thing, isn't it?" Ichigo shot him a look. "Okay, what I meant to say, it's a relief. You two were having problems and this would have happened eventually."

"Thank you for your support, Shin. It's greatly appreciated." Ichigo rolled his eyes as he pushed off the countertop to turn to the stove to finish dinner.

"Ichi, you know what I mean. I mean, I think it's admirable that Renji handled the situation the way he did. Knowing him, I'm surprised he didn't kick your ass."

"Tch. I could take him." Ichigo turned off the stove and poured its contents into a bowl, the curry bubbling slightly as it cooled from its boil.

"Ichi."

Ichigo sighed. "I know, I know. It's just that…you and him both said something that got me thinking. And I generally don't like where this train of thought is going." Shinji stared at Ichigo, a slim blonde eyebrow raised slightly. Ichigo looked down at his feet, feeling slightly embarrassed. "You both said that he looked at me differently."

"Ah."

"But he doesn't. He can't." Ichigo shook his head, even if he wanted to believe that Grimmjow had held some possible feeling for him, his mind just couldn't imagine it. "He hates me. I mean, I grew up with him tormenting me."

"People change, Ichi."

Ichigo sighed, of course this was true, and change was inevitable. But Grimmjow, he just couldn't like Ichigo. That wasn't possible. "But it doesn't make any sense!"

"Does love usually make sense?" Shinji picked up one of the cookies and started walking to the living room, handing the dessert to a happy Nel.

Ichigo stood in the kitchen, looking at Nel, his mind instantly wandering off to thoughts of Grimmjow. Ichigo's feelings for the blue-haired devil had returned almost instantly when he saw the man towering over him in the grocery store. Whenever the man came home from work Ichigo would instantly feel flustered. Being the same room as the guy was almost too much for Ichigo to bear, but Grimmjow, how had felt the same way? Since Grimmjow had returned, he hadn't been exactly mean to the kid. Granted, he did still call him berry or fairy, but he did get him a job. And sure, Grimmjow was still being an overall asshole to Ichigo, but at least he wasn't beating him up every chance he got, right?

Shinji left after three had dinner, and Ichigo spent the rest of night doing homework while Nel watched a couple of movies before knocking out at eight. He picked her up carefully and put her in her room, making sure to flick on the green ram night light before leaving the room. When Ichigo walked out of the room, he was expecting Grimmjow to be home, because he was usually there when Ichigo put Nel to bed. Ichigo was extremely surprised to find the apartment still empty. His eyes scanned quiet living room, feeling slightly uneasy at the sight. He had never really been in the living room by himself. As much as Ichigo wanted to go home, he knew he couldn't leave Nel by himself. With a sigh, Ichigo sat back down at the dining room table and continued his homework.

"Berry…berry…berry, wake up."

Ichigo groaned slightly when he felt his body being shook with soft whispers in his ear. He turned his head and cracked in eye open slowly. Standing next to him was a very tired looking Grimmjow. Ichigo sat straight up, looking at his surroundings. He was still sitting at the table with unfinished homework in front of him. He looked at the blurry clock and noticed that it read eleven-twenty. His eyes widened before looking back at Grimmjow.

"Are you just now getting home?"

Grimmjow sighed. "Yeah, I had a lot of work to do, plus some homework."

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows. "You had homework?"

"I am still in school, ya know."

Ichigo nodded slowly, realizing that Grimmjow had taken a seat next to him. Ichigo's eyes raked over Grimmjow's tired form, his heart strings were tugged slightly. He suddenly wanted to take care of the man. "So, are you hungry?"

Grimmjow looked at him and smirked. "I am, actually. Whatcha cook?"

"Curry. I can heat it up for you if you want." Ichigo started to stand.

"It's okay, ya can go home if ya want. I didn' meant ta keep ya so long." Grimmjow rubbed his temples; a small headache had formed over the last couple of hours of work.

"No, it's okay. I don't mind." Ichigo's cheeks reddened slightly at his actions. Grimmjow and him were actually having a civil conversation. They were being nice to each other. I could get used to this. As much as Ichigo's heart believed it, Ichigo forced his head to push the thought to the back of his mind.

Ichigo heated up the food and brought the plate to Grimmjow with a can of beer. Without thinking, Ichigo sat down as the man began to eat. Feeling slightly foolish, Ichigo started looking at his homework, trying to find something to do. In the midst of trying to occupy himself, Ichigo missed the small smile that Grimmjow had given him. To say that Grimmjow was tired was an understatement; the man was beyond just simply being tired. From working at the office to his online classes to watching Nel when Ichigo wasn't around, he felt like he had taken on too much for a twenty year old. But, having Ichigo next to him was oddly relaxing, though that might have been due to the fact that Grimmjow wasn't able to get the orange-haired man out of his head all day.

After leaving his apartment, Grimmjow's mind kept reeling back to Ichigo's face after his break up with Renji. He kept thinking about Ichigo ignoring him when he left and it bothered him, probably a lot more than he'd willingly admit. But now, having Ichigo sitting next to him, serving him, he felt oddly relaxed. Like, Ichigo was supposed to be there. In his thought process, Grimmjow hadn't realized that he had been staring at the other male, until a pair of brown eyes looked at him, a recognize scowl etched on Ichigo's face.

"What are you staring at?"

Grimmjow smirked. "Nothin', fairy."

Ichigo blushed. "Whatever."

"So, you and the red-head are over."

Ichigo scowled. "Yeah, we are." Grimmjow merely nodded. "Why do you care?"

Grimmjow snapped his head. "I-I don't care."

Smirking, Ichigo cocked his head, placing his chin in the palm of his head. "Really, then? Why did you ask if you don't care?"

Grimmjow stood up from the table, ignoring the question as he walked to the sink and threw the plate in. He didn't care. He was asking, making conversation. But why ask that, when you saw the whole thing? Grimmjow yelled at himself internally. Of course he wanted to make sure that Ichigo was rid of the guy. Every time Grimmjow even thought of Ichigo being with someone, his insides would bubble. Grimmjow turned around and saw Ichigo standing up from the table, picking up his books.

"Ya leavin'?"

"Yeah. It's almost midnight, I should get going before my dad starts calling my phone non-stop."

"Yer nineteen, berry. Ya can do whatever ya want."

Ichigo shrugged as he started walking towards the door. "Not in my dad's eyes."

Just as Ichigo started to pull open the door, Grimmjow heard himself call out to the other. "You can stay if you want."

Ichigo froze, letting the words wash over his body in surprise. He slowly turned on the ball of his foot, staring wide-eyed at the male in front of him. "Wh-what?"

Grimmjow rubbed the back of his neck and scowled. "I'm just offering. Like you said, it's late."

"N-no, that's okay. I'll just leave. I have class in the morning."

"I can take ya to class if you want." Grimmjow was staring at the floor. He felt so out of character. Why was I asking him to stay? Why did I want him to stay so badly?

Ichigo shook his head, knowing his head was bright red. "I have to go home."

"Want me to drive you?" Grimmjow looked up slowly, teal eyes catching shocked brown ones.

"I'm good. Plus, you can't leave Nel here by herself."

Without another word, Ichigo stepped outside of the house and started walking towards the side walking. His heart was pounding hard inside of his chest. Grimmjow had asked him to stay. No, Grimmjow insisted that he stayed. Why? Ichigo didn't want to think about it. He had just broken up with his boyfriend that day and he was already creating false realties about Grimmjow? But, the more that Ichigo thought about it, he wasn't exactly sad. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew things were off between him and Renji, like Renji said, things had changed between them.

Sighing, Ichigo found himself pushing the door open, surprised when his didn't attack him. It was late, sure that his father was sleeping, Ichigo tip-toed to the stairs. He jumped when a light in the living flashed on, blinding and scaring him at the same time. He turned slowly and found his dad sitting on the couch with a grim look on his face.

"Where were you?"
Ichigo scowled. "At work."

"You're working for him?"
Ichigo didn't need to ask to know that his dad was referring to Grimmjow. "I just started."

"You need to quit." Isshin's voice was quiet, but the statement still met Ichigo's ears.

"What?"

"I don't want you working for him." Isshin sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"No, I'm not going to quit."

"Ichigo, please. It doesn't feel right to have you working for him."

"Why? Because of who his father is? I know you don't like the guy, but that shouldn't keep me from a job."

Isshin stood up, taking quiet steps towards his son. "Ichigo, it's much more than. Don't work for him." Isshin put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, trying to create finality in their conversation.

Ichigo shrugged his hand away and stared hard at his dad. He couldn't explain why he was so defensive over working for Grimmjow. "No. I'm nineteen, dad. I can do what I want."

Ichigo turned around and began walking up the stairs. He heard his father sigh behind him when he reached the landing. Ichigo shook his head as he fell back onto his bed. It had been a long day, and he just now felt the after affects of all the emotions that were running through him. He was tried from just thinking of his day's events. Breaking up with Renji was the last thing he expected, along with catering to Grimmjow, but that was another story.

Grimmjow. Ichigo's mind was instantly filled with a familiar eat-shit grin, electric blue hair, and piercing blue eyes that mocked him every chance he got. His thoughts went back to when he had first met Grimmjow. He thought they could be friends because they both had different hair. That was clearly not the case. If anything, Ichigo's hair was partially why Grimmjow targeted him, saying that he was the only one that was allowed to be different. Ichigo laughed at the memory, thinking of how Grimmjow was still the same, yet so different. It was a good different; a kind of different that Ichigo felt himself liking.

His heart hurt for a moment. Renji entered his mind for a fleeting second and he stopped to think about how Renji had been there over the past four years, his rock. He suddenly felt really sad that Renji was no longer his, but friends, that's what they were meant to be. Ichigo sighed as he rolled onto his side, trying to seek sleep that was staying out of sight. His heart started to hurt again when Grimmjow began to seep back into his consciousness.

xxx

"Itsyugo?"

Nel walked off the jungle gym, her eyes scanning the area for a familiar head of orange hair. She walked around the bars and slides, trying to find her babysitter. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her pulling her away from the jungle gym. The body spun her causing her to scream and giggle. When the spinning subsided she turned around and found Ichigo smiling at her. He put her down and she ran off again, stopping only to turn around to make sure that Ichigo was still there.

It had been a month since Ichigo had started working for Grimmjow, and he had to admit that was overly content with how everything had been going. His first paycheck from Grimmjow held figures that Ichigo couldn't even imagine. When he tried to complain, Grimmjow simply glared at him and kicked him out of the house. Ichigo had noticed that with this past month, Grimmjow had been working overly hard. He always seemed to becoming home later and later each day, making Ichigo feel a little worried. He had grown accustomed to staying late and waiting for Grimmjow to get home, heating him up some food before leaving. His dad hadn't lightened up on the whole "working for the enemy" but since he still hadn't explained to Ichigo why he hated Grimmjow's family, Ichigo simply ignored his father. Or, at least more than he usually did.

Nel had been the reason why he looked past what his dad wanted. The girl had an undeniable charm to her. That, and Ichigo had noticed whenever he picked up Nel, she was being picked on. Ichigo had developed some alpha mom feelings for her, wanting to protect her against everything. It probably because he felt like he had to make sure that she didn't have the same youth that he had. Taking care of Nel was what made him deal with his dad's hasseling. He smiled at the thought, as he walked over to the bench that Shinji had been sitting at. Ichigo noticed that Shinji was scowling.

"Yeah, here he is." Shinji held the phone out to Ichigo, who picked it up with hesitation. "Shit, I don't know why he doesn't just call ya himself."

Confused, Ichigo brought the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Aye, carrot."

"Nnoitra?" Ichigo pulled the phone away from his ear to stare at it quickly.

"I need ya to look after Grimm."

"What do you mean look after him, isn't he at work?"

Through the phone Ichigo could hear groaning in the background followed by Nnoitra cussing. "Fuck, that's disgusting Grimm. Carrot, ya need to get to Grimm's place now. He sick and I ain't lookin' after him." Without another word Nnoitra hung up.

Ichigo sighed as he handed Shinji his phone. He sighed as he looked back at the park that he had taken Nel to for the day, wanting to give her some fresh air. But now, he had to go take care of Grimmjow because he was sick? Ichigo sighed as he walked over to the swings that Nel was playing at. He stopped when he noticed that Nel was sitting with a pink haired girl. He watched as they giggled with one another. Ichigo smiled, feeling guilty that he had to steal Nel away from her new found friend. Slowly, he walked towards the girls. Nel's head snapped in his direction at the sound of his footsteps.

"Itsyugo, this is Yachiru!" Nel jumped off the swing and ran towards Ichigo, wrapping her arms around his legs and beamed up at him.

"Hi, Yachiru. I'm Ichigo."

"Icchi, do you like to fight?" Ichigo was slightly taken aback by the small girl's straight forward question. Ichigo was unable to form words and Yachiru just smiled at him. "I think you'd make good friends with Kenny."

"Okay, then." He looked away from the girl, trying to determine whether or not it was safe for Nel to be friends with her. With a small smile, Ichigo looked at Nel. "Nel, we have to go now. It seems Grimmjow's sick."

"Hai, Itsyugo." Nel turned around and waved at Yachiru. "Bye Yachiru!"

Yachiru waved back as Ichigo picked up Nel and started walking in the general direction of the apartment. Per usual, Nel rattled off about her experience with Yachiru and how she wanted to play with her again. Ichigo merely nodded his head, thinking of the likeliness of running into someone they had met at the park was extremely slim. Regardless, he pretended to agree that they would meet again. When they reached the apartment, Ichigo went in with hesitancy. He found the living room empty and set Nel down. He told her to go to her room as he walked towards Grimmjow's closed door.

Ichigo tapped his knuckles against the wood, pausing to wait for recognition from inside. When he didn't, he slowly turned the door knob and looked into the darkened room. He could see the silhouette of a large body on an equally large bed. With soft steps, Ichigo pushed his way into Grimmjow's room, rounding the bed so that he looked down at Grimmjow's sleeping form. He smirked slightly at Grimmjow's slightly serene look, thinking that he would have never seen that look before. Ichigo brought his hand out to feel Grimmjow's forehead. As soon as his skin touched the hot forehead, Grimmjow's eyes snapped open.

He scowled when he noticed Ichigo. "What are you doing here?" His voice was horse and his eyes had drifted shut as he mentally tried to ward of a pounding headache.

"Nnoitra called. He told me you were sick." Ichigo touched Grimmjow's forehead again, only to have his hand smacked away.

"Well, I don't need yer help. So leave."

"I'm not leaving."

Ichigo walked out of the room, stopping at Nel's to see what she was doing, and headed toward the kitchen. He pulled out a large bowl and filled with it could water. He grabbed a dish rag from one of the drawers before walking back to Grimmjow's room. When he entered he noticed that Grimmjow had pushed himself up into a sitting position, wincing as he rubbed his temples. Ichigo's eyes instantly noticed the large amount of skin that was showing, since he had just now realized that Grimmjow was shirtless.

Grimmjow noticed the slight red that was painted across the bridge of Ichigo's nose and the apples of his cheeks. He watched as Ichigo stiffly walked towards the bed, placing the bowl on the nightstand. Ichigo dipped the rag into the water, squeezing the excess out of the towel. With a tentative hand, Ichigo pushed against Grimmjow's chest signaling for Grimmjow to lie down. He did so, watching Ichigo with hungry eyes. Ichigo's cheeks began to heat again as he took the towel and dabbed it against Grimmjow's heated forehead. He placed the cold down against the skin, his fingers lingering slightly. The two stared at each other before Ichigo got up from the bed.

"Did you take any medicine?" Ichigo's heart was pounding, just from being in the same proximity as Grimmjow.

Grimmjow cleared his throat. "No. Nnoitra just dropped me off."

"Do you have any?"

"Yeah, it's in a cupboard in the kitchen." Grimmjow watched Ichigo, his heart strings tugging slightly.

"I'll be right back." With that, Ichigo walked out of the room.

In the past month he felt something for Ichigo, something that made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He noticed the more that Ichigo was around that he had actually liked having him in the house. His mind would creep back to when he was younger and he used to torment Ichigo, and he really couldn't remember why he had done that. Not that he had bothered him now, it was the past. But was Ichigo over it? Did Ichigo still think about the days that Grimmjow had tormented him? Sighing, Grimmjow tried to sink further into the bed. He was clearly overworked. Online schooling and working for his step-father was not easy. Especially with the shit his step-father had been putting under him.

Grimmjow didn't realized that he had falling asleep until he felt had felt someone subtly shaking him. His eyes fluttered open and he found warm brown eyes staring down at him. He noticed the small on Ichigo's lips. The two locked eyes and there was an undeniable tug that was been pulled between the both of him. Grimmjow noticed Ichigo shake his head as he pulled away from Grimmjow to pick up a small bowl that was sitting on his night stand next to the bowl filled with cold water. Grimmjow looked at the window and noticed that the sun had set.

"I made you some food. You need to eat before you take the medicine."

Grimmjow smirked as he moved into a sitting position. "Are ya gonna feed me, berry?"

"Tch." Ichigo held the bowl out for Grimmjow to hold. "This isn't a shoujo manga, Grimm. I'm not going to feed you."

Grimmjow reached for the bowl and looked down at the porridge. "Aw, but ya were bein' so nice ta me." He picked up the spoon and took a bite of the food. "This is actually good, berry."

Ichigo flushed slightly, which made Grimmjow smirked. "Thank you. When you're done, take the medicine." Ichigo started to leave the room.

"Where are ya going?"

"I'm going to go check on Nel, I'll be right back."

Grimmjow watched as Ichigo walk out of the room as he ate the rest of the food. He felt oddly happy over the fact that Ichigo was taking care of him. It was the same feeling he got whenever he found Ichigo waiting up for him after work. Grimmjow finished his food and placed the bowl on the table next to him. He picked up the medicine and popped two pills in his mouth just as Ichigo walked into the room. Ichigo took the towel off of Grimmjow's pillow, where it had fallen when he fell asleep and dunked it back into the bowel. The water was a little warm now, so he went into Grimmjow's master bathroom to refill the bowl with cold water. When he got back into the room he saw that his patient had fallen asleep.

Ichigo sat down next Grimmjow on the bed and began to wipe down the sweat that had accumulated on Grimmjow's skin. He felt his own cheeks flush again as he ran the towel against the heated skin. He couldn't help but feel extremely flushed over the whole situation. He couldn't deny it anymore; he had feelings for Grimmjow…again. After he had wiped Grimmjow down, he placed the cold towel back against his forehead. He ran his hand through Grimmjow's surprisingly smooth locks. He pulled his hand back in surprise at the action, his heart racing at what he just did.

"Itsyugo?"

Ichigo looked behind and found Nel dressed in her green night gown staring up at Ichigo with her big grey eyes. "Yes, Nel?

"Is onii-chan okay?" She walked into the room so that she was standing at the side of the bed, her hand resting on Ichigo's knee.

"Yeah, he just caught a cold." Ichigo picked up Nel so that she was sitting in his lap.

"Why is he sthick?" Ichigo noticed that Nel looked worried over her brother.

"He works a lot."

Nel's eyes started tearing as she stared up at Ichigo. Her bottom lip quivered as she looked back at her brother. "Isth it becausthe of me?"

Ichigo rubbed small circles on her back. "Of course not, Nel."

"Are you sthure?" She looked up again as she rubbed a small fist across her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Grimmjow woke up to light shining directly into his eyes. Groaning, he rubbed his large hand across his face as he tried to shift in his blankets. When he moved, he noticed that there was a weight pinning the blanket to the bed. He turned over and found a shock of orange hair lying on the bed next to him. He noticed that Nel was sleeping next to him, wrapped in Ichigo's arms and he held her to his chest. His eyes widened at the sight, taking it in slowly. His head still throbbed slightly as he felt his cold still lingering, but he was feeling comforted seeing two main people in his life lying next to him. Just as quickly as the thought had entered his mind, it had quickly left. He shouldn't have thoughts like that.

He lifted a hand and shook Ichigo's shoulder. Groggily, Ichigo opened his eyes and saw a familiar cocky grin peering over him. Shocked, Ichigo jumped and fell out of the bed. In the process he dropped Nel from his arms; luckily he wasn't that far from the ground, so she didn't get hurt. Regardless, Nel woke up crying from the drop. Ichigo picked her up and began to rub her back, trying to calm her down. Grimmjow couldn't help but laugh at the sight. He didn't stop when he noticed Ichigo shoot him a look.

"I'm sorry Nel, calm down."

"Itsyugo, dat hurt!"

"I know, I know."

"Nel, come here."

Ichigo and Nel both looked up from the floor. Nel scrambled out of Ichigo's arms and crawled onto the large bed and soft blankets. She made her way to her brother. He grinned at her as he picked her up and squeezed her. She giggled as she pounded her small fist in his shoulders. Ichigo smiled from his spot on the floor, feeling out of place as he watched the family bond with one another.

"Itsygo, come here." Nel waved towards Ichigo, motioning for him to come on the bed.

Ichigo stared at Grimmjow, he was cocking a blue eyebrow at him, his eyes dancing with a teasing attitude. "Yeah, berry, come here."

"No, I should be going actually. My dad is probably wondering where I am."

Ichigo stood up and watched as Nel and Grimmjow had both stared at him from the bed. Deep inside he had really wanted to crawl into the bed with them, but he couldn't. It would have ruined everything. He and Grimmjow were employer and employee. Grimmjow was teasing him, just like he had when they were younger. His statement meant nothing.

Grimmjow sighed. "Berry." He got out of bed, leaving Nel on the bed as he walked over to the smaller male. Without thinking, Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo's around his waist, somehow fighting what was left of his cold as he hefted to smaller man onto his bed. Nel giggled the whole time as she watched as Grimmjow and Ichigo wrestled on the bed. With swift movements, for a sick person, Grimmjow was able to pin Ichigo. The two stared at each other with wide eyes as they were in a similar position as a fateful night ten years prior, just reversed. Without a second thought, Grimmjow leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against Ichigo's. He smirked when he pulled back and saw Ichigo's shocked expression.

Ichigo regained his composure. "So, who's the fairy now?" With their change in roles, Ichigo punched Grimmjow.

Hello Readers!
It's been too long! I know, I know!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
I'm telling you straight up, I didn't edit it -_-
So, if it really bothers you, I'll go edit it for you guys.

How did you enjoy the chapter? I bet ya'll liked the ending, ne?
I finished up my other story, so now I'll be able to put even MORE focus into this! And, school isn't kicking my ass like it was before, so I'll try and update more often.

Don't forget to review, because I like knowing your input.