Nel makes a sound like an airplane while spreading her arms out like one and enters the penthouse zigzagging to the living room. Grimmjow stands at the entrance looking exhausted but he looks in to find Ichigo nowhere in sight. Maybe if he sneaks out real quietly and returns to work, he won't be home till late at night and Ichigo might not be up to question him about today…

'Grimmjow!' Ichigo exclaims as he pokes his head out of the kitchen wearing an apron decorated with strawberries. He has a spatula in his head and Grimmjow can't help imagining how much it would hurt if Ichigo whacked him with it after he listens to what Grimmjow has to tell him. A huge drop of sweat appears on the side of Grimmjow's head and his lips begin to twitch. He quickly resets his expressions and faces Ichigo with what he hopes is a guilt-free smile except he knows he probably looks like he has a toothache.

'Ichigo! Baby!' he says sweetly as he walks over to his lover and pecks him on the cheek. Maybe he can sweet talk his way out of this. 'I know I just got back but I have to return to work so I just dropped Nel over and now I'll just be on my way…'

'Don't be ridiculous, Grimm,' Ichigo says coolly and returns to the stove. 'You have a break till 2.30 and its only one so let's sit down for lunch. I've made steak.'

Grimmjow hesitates and groans inwardly. He loves steak, especially the one Ichigo makes with his heavenly secret sauce and mashed potatoes. His hand lingers on the kitchen doorframe. Then, as if in defeat, he slowly enters the kitchen and takes out the plates and cutlery. He doesn't take out any knives for Nel. Knowing Ichigo, he'll probably make something for her that doesn't require her using such dangerous tools.

'Mashed potatoes!' Nel squeals as she digs into her plate that has a tower of the yellow stuff covered in sour cream.

'Eat to your heart's content, Nel,' Ichigo says pleasantly as he slips a steak slice onto Grimmjow's plate along with some greens. Grimmjow pouts.

'Do I have to?' he complains and eyes the vegetables.

'Who's the baby now?' Ichigo teases and laughs as he pulls away from Grimmjow who makes a swipe at him.

'Just wait until I get you in bed. I'll make you scream,' Grimmjow mutters so only Ichigo can hear him.

'You got work to go to, sugar,' Ichigo smirks. Grimmjow scowls but then sighs as he cuts his steak into bite size pieces. He slips one into his mouth. He sighs again in content. He must be in heaven!

'Yum, yum!' Nel says as she licks her lips but completely misses a huge wad stuck on her cheek. Grimmjow raises an eyebrow at her. How the hell can someone make such a mess? He watches as Ichigo smiles all goofy as he cleans up Nel's face with a tissue. She giggles as he tickles her stomach before he withdraws to his own meal.

'Can Nel have some?' the little girls asks as she points at the steak on Ichigo's plate. He cuts a small piece and lifts it to her face.

'Here comes the train!' Ichigo says as he makes the chugging noise of one and pops the meat into Nel's open mouth. She swallows, laughs, claps her hand and asks for more. As Ichigo cuts up more for her, Grimmjow places a hand on his cheek and watches the two.

Ichigo looks so happy. He's laughing and smiling as he plays with his child. Grimmjow pauses. Ichigo's child? Does he even consider Nel as his own? All this time, he always thought of Nel as the kid who lives in their house but when it came down to whose child she is, he thought of singular instead of plural. Maybe he isn't ready to consider Nel as his child. Or maybe he doesn't think he is a fit parent for Nel. Ichigo is so much more caring and nurturing towards her. What has Grimmjow done to be called her parent?

'Grimmjow? Hello?' Ichigo says, looking at Grimmjow with a curious expression.

'Huh? What?' Grimmjow says, his elbow slipping off the table as he looks at Ichigo.

'I said would you like another piece?' He gestures to the last steak on the platter in front of him. Grimmjow blinks.

'Uh, sure,' he says dumbly and lifts his plate like he is some poor, starving child.

'Also, I was asking you what happened when you went to pick up Nel,' Ichigo says softly, so as Nel doesn't hear him. She's too busy chewing on the steak meats slathered in gravy.

'Uhhhh…'

Grimmjow feels like his steak is a bit too chewy and tastes like cardboard. Ichigo doesn't notice the nervousness in his tone and munches on his lunch calmly, looking at Grimmjow attentively.

'She kinda got into a fight,' Grimmjow says sheepishly and pulls the collar of his shirt. Why the hell does he feel so nervous? Is he afraid that Ichigo might find out what happened today on the road? Nel hasn't said anything yet or maybe she hasn't gotten the chance yet.

'A fight?' Ichigo yelps and glances to see if Nel has noticed what they are talking about. She's slipping a piece of steak into her mouth by lifting it above her head and then slurping it down while dribbling sauce down the front of her green dress.

'What do you mean she got into a fight?' he whispers, eying Nel's dress, knowing he'll have a hard time washing those stains out.

'She hit a guy 'cuz he was making fun of her.'

'Well that isn't good! She should know it's not nice to hit people if they are annoying you. I hope she hasn't picked it up from anyone we know.'

'Hey! Don't look at me! I haven't picked a fight since she got here. Not that I do that otherwise.' He says the last line quickly when he notices the dark look in Ichigo's eyes.

'Well, we'll talk to her about it when you get back from work. After all, her safety is what matters,' Ichigo says fondly as he ruffles Nel's hair. She closes her eyes and smiles, enjoying the petting like a little kitten.

'Can't say that about the car,' Grimmjow mutters under his breath but Ichigo catches it.

'The car? What happened to the car?' Ichigo says, startled and pulls his hand away from Nel.

'Oh! Mister Blue-haired man almost went into a truck that was thiiiisss big,' Nel titters away and indicates the size of the truck with her hands, stretching them as far as she can. Ichigo stares at her in horror and then at Grimmjow, who gives him a weak smile while inwardly scowling at Nel and screaming, 'Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!'

'But we got away 'cuz he went left and then right and then we went waaayy into the side of the road and it was really, really fun!" Nel yaps and claps her hands, beaming at Ichigo.

There is a spell of silence in the dining room. Ichigo is holding his cutlery in his hands, his mouth open in shock. Grimmjow eyes him uneasily, making a mental note to remove those items from his hands before he begins lecturing him. Not that Ichigo loses his temper like he does but still, better safe than sorry. They have had fights before but they are usually verbal and not that violent. It only got violent once when Ichigo threw an expensive Ming vase at him which missed him by inches. That infuriated Ichigo who then turned him out of the house and Grimmjow had to go sleep at Renji's place. But right now, he does not want to be sleeping on a hard couch.

Ichigo puts his knife and fork down carefully and laces his fingers together in front of him. He turns to Grimmjow but he doesn't have an angry look. It's completely void of emotion and that scares Grimmjow even more.

'So when were you planning to tell me this, Grimmjow?' he asks solemnly. Grimmjow looks down at his plate and concentrates a tad too much on his half-eaten steak. He should probably say something. Make up an excuse or something but he knows that Ichigo will be able to tell if he is lying.

'Seriously, Grimmjow, when?' Ichigo presses on, his voice getting firmer. Grimmjow's hand twitches when he senses it. 'When you get even more reckless and next time it's not such a close call? Next time, when you end up hurt? Next time, when Nel ends up in a hospital?'

'I don't have to hear this, Ichigo,' Grimmjow suddenly says, angry at the accusation.

Even Nel is quiet now. She is watching Ichigo and Grimmjow silently, not knowing what to make of the situation.

'Well then what do you have to hear?' Ichigo says calmly, not wanting to lose his temper. 'Good job! You got away! Let's make it a bigger truck next time! The bigger the better, right?'

'What the hell, Ichigo?' Grimmjow turns on him angrily and stands up abruptly. Ichigo stands up too, not losing eye contact.

'Nel, go to your room,' Ichigo commands coolly and fold his arms over his chest as Nel scurries out of the room.

'Nice work, Ichigo, we wouldn't want to stain her childhood with us fighting,' Grimmjow says sarcastically as he begins to pick up plates and go to the kitchen, not wanting to stay in the same room with him.

'Don't you avoid me, Grimmjow Jaguerjack!' Ichigo says sharply and follows with even more plates to put in the dishwasher.

'Avoid you? I couldn't if I tried!' He dumps the plates into the dishwasher and pushes past Ichigo to get a second round of dirty dishes from the table.

'Don't act smart with me! You always do this when we're discussing something serious and you just go turn it into a joke!' He mimics Grimmjow and swiftly follows him back.

'Who's joking? I'm not joking? Does this face look like I'm joking?' He turns on Ichigo with a face that looks like he's going to bite. Ichigo stops in his tracks but he just rolls his eyes at Grimmjow's fierce expression.

'Can you at least act like you're serious so we can talk this incident over?' He puts his hands on his waist and stands up straight. Grimmjow is just a bit taller than him but that doesn't stop him from arguing with him head-on.

'You wanna talk? Alright, let's talk!' Grimmjow practically yells this as he throws his hands up into the air.

'Alright! Why didn't you tell me about this near death accident? It could have been traumatizing for Nel!'

'Oh my God! Nel, Nel, Nel! That's all you ever talk about these days, Ichigo!'

'Well, she is our child, Grimmjow! I assume all parents are like that!'

'No! They don't hamper after their kids 24/7! You gotta let her breathe! Hell, you gotta let me breathe!'

'Is that why you didn't tell me? You thought I'd forget about you and only think about Nel?'

'No! Maybe I didn't want to worry you too much!'

'Worry me too much? And it wouldn't worry me if Nel told me about the accident before you did? Grimmjow, that would worry me more because it shows you hide things from me!'

'What? Are you even hearing yourself?'

'Are you?'

'I don't have to hear this!'

'You know you're right! You just go ahead and live in your little bubble of a world while I go ahead and raise our kid on my own!'

'That's not what I mean, Ichigo! I-! URGH! Stop putting words in my mouth!'

'What is this really about, Grimmjow? Is there something troubling you?'

'No! I-!'

'Is it work?'

'No! I-!'

'Is it the 'no sex' rule?'

'Maybe. No, wait! No! I-!'

'Is it your father?'

Grimmjow stops in his tracks. He closes his mouth. The hesitation takes Ichigo by surprise as well. His hands slump to his sides as he looks at his partner looking like he has been defeated or broken. Had he hit home? Is that why Grimmjow has been so pre-occupied and short-tempered lately? It's possible. After all, Grimmjow had never gotten along with his father. He never invited him over or called him or even talked about him. When he had first celebrated his birthday with Ichigo, Ichigo had suggested if he should invite his family but Grimmjow's face had darkened and he had told Ichigo that he never got along with his father and would rather never want to see him for the rest of his life. Ichigo had respected his wishes but he couldn't help feeling sorry for his lover to never have a proper loving family. Not that Ichigo had it any better. He had a player for a twin brother who always took his stuff just because he felt liked it. Still, at least he had better than Grimmjow. Maybe Grimmjow just didn't feel like he can be a good father since he never had a proper role model in his youth. Taking care of a child is such a huge step for both of them but it is harder for Grimmjow since he has never had experience.

Ichigo's face softens and he draws close to Grimmjow, who is looking down awkwardly and in embarrassment. When he notices Ichigo so close, he looks up and is startled when Ichigo captures his lips with his own soft, tender ones. He slowly melts in that kiss, closing his eyes while purring contentedly as he knits one hand into the hair at the back of Ichigo's neck and wraps the other around his lover's waist. Ichigo opens his mouth slightly and allows him access. Grimmjow slips his tongue in and they play around a bit before breaking apart. Ichigo flashes him a flirty grin.

'Feeling better?' he purrs into his lover's ear. Grimmjow rests his chin on Ichigo's shoulder and hums. Ichigo laughs and gently pushes him off. 'Good. Now you have work.' He turns away and returns to the kitchen. 'Oh. And I'm scheduling an appointment with a couple therapist tomorrow at 3.p.m. don't be late.'

Grimmjow's eyes widen.

'Excuse me, what for?' Grimmjow stutters and grabs the table near the door entrance, afraid he might fall from the shock. A couple therapist?

'It's healthy for all couples to see one,' Ichigo says as if it's perfectly reasonable. 'It helps strengthen their relationship and trust in one another. Besides, Toshiro told me about this one he keeps seeing with Gin who has done wonders for their relationship and I want to test him out myself. He sounds like a guru of relationships.'

Bloody. Hell.

Oh well. If it'll make Ichigo happy, he might as well do it. Although their relationship is pretty good and they don't need to pay a guy a couple of hundred bucks to tell them that. Anyone can tell them that just by looking at them.

The sound of glass breaking resonates in the house. Ichigo tuts.

'And that was good china,' he sighs as he makes to clean it. Then, Nel's voices rings out.

'You broke something! Fuck!' she says cheerily. Ichigo stops in his tracks.

'GRIMMJOW!'

Oops. Time to split. And with that, he slips out of the penthouse, moving faster than he ever has in his life.