True to Grimmjow's word, when Ichigo entered the elevator the following morning he instantly spotted mistletoe hanging from the roof. "At least Grimmjow's not here," Ichigo muttered, glad to have the elevator to himself.
When he exited at Las Noches, he thought for a second he'd stopped at the wrong floor. Surely this wasn't the same office as yesterday. It looked like a winter wonderland, or maybe Santa's grotto. Sure enough though he heard the tapping of heels and Rangiku ran around the corner, grinning widely.
"Ichigo!" She called and he groaned, catching sight of the Santa hat she was waving about. When she reached him she jammed it onto his head and then stepped back to appraise him. Her face fell. "Wow, red is not your colour, huh?"
"No." He agreed with a laugh. Red clashed horribly with his hair.
"Well, Merry Christmas anyway!"
"It's December 1st?"
"Don't be such a grinch." She chided before linking arms with him and pulling him through the room. Ichigo could see most people wore similar expressions of distaste, all sporting a Santa hat too. "We'll be doing a secret Santa this year too. I'll bring the slips around later at lunch."
"But I don't know anyone."
"I'll help you. Besides, you might get Grimmjow." She laughed and nudged him in the ribs. Ichigo winced but managed a small smile. "If worst comes to worst, just buy a bottle of wine. It works for me every year."
"I'll keep that in mind."
They had reached his desk and to his horror, Ichigo spotted mistletoe hanging above his seat. Rangiku giggled and kissed him on the cheek before he could say anything. "See you later, Ichigo!"
Ichigo sighed and sat down. It was a good thing she knew he was gay, he didn't want to go through that fiasco again. Booting up the computer and logging in, he made a mental note to change the damn screensaver again before hurriedly opening several files to cover it.
"Nice hat."
He glanced up to see Grimmjow walking over and suddenly remembered the mistletoe. "Wait!" Grimmjow froze and Ichigo got onto the desk, yanking the offending plant down. When he sat back down he could see Grimmjow trying not to laugh. "I just saved your ass, the least you could say is thank you."
"Thank you." He replied and approached the desk again. "Rangiku?" He asked, picking up the now wilted plant. "Well, at least you spotted this one. She must think you need cheering up if she put this over your desk."
"Yeah, just what I need, to be kissing everyone who walks near my desk. Great way to introduce myself." He glared at the mistletoe, curing Rangiku and her flirty nature.
"There are worse ways to do it." Grimmjow tossed the mistletoe into the bin and headed into his office.
Ichigo frowned, watching him go. Was that Grimmjow's way of saying he should've left it up? Too late now. He had to admit, grudgingly, that he wished he hadn't noticed the mistletoe. Maybe he would've been able to get a kiss from the man. He pushed the thought away as quickly as it came. Of all the people to daydream about kissing, Grimmjow should be at the bottom of the list, not the top.
"He's your boss, it's against all the rules. Get over it." He muttered to himself before sighing at starting his work.
By the time lunch came around, Ichigo had successfully forgotten about the mistletoe. Again, Rangiku came up to eat with him, informing him of the days gossip. Who had been kissing who - or attempting to - and inquiring if he'd had any luck with Grimmjow. Her disappointment was almost comical when he told her he'd taken the mistletoe down.
Lunch was almost over when someone new came to visit Grimmjow. The tall, blonde woman only spared them a glance before entering his office.
"Ooh, time for some drama, quick grab the headset!' Rangiku grabbed it quickly but after a moment, sighed in disappointment. "Damn, it's turned off."
"Who is she?" Ichigo asked curiously, noting that although they couldn't hear, they could still see and Grimmjow did not look happy.
"Tia Harribel, head of decision three, Sacrifices." She laughed at his incredulous expression. "Basically, she approves anything the company moves into. If it's not viable then she'll veto it. nothing gets through division three unless the company benefits from it."
"And the drama?"
Rangiku had the air of someone cradling a large bomb. "She's Grimmjow's ex-wife."
Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise, that certainly was drama. Granted, he'd only known Grimmjow a day so it wasn't surprising he hadn't known. Rangiku could be the next Einstein and he just didn't know yet.
"I know right? Anyway, they divorced a couple of years after this place was set up. Apparently, it was infidelity though I don't know who. I'm betting Grimmjow, he's much more attractive."
Well, that certainly put a dampener on Ichigo's growing crush. That was if it was true. He was quickly learning to take everything Rangiku said with a pinch of salt. But if it was true... Ichigo had experienced cheating first-hand and didn't want a repeat. Then he reminded himself that Grimmjow couldn't cheat on him because they were never going to be together.
"It's a shame really." Rangiku continued. "I mean, Tia is now in a relationship with some guy doing business with Aizen. but Grimmjow, I think he's been single ever since." She sighed wistfully, looking at the two arguing in the office. "What a waste."
"When you say Aizen, do you mean the Sosuke Aizen?"
"Yep, the very same. We don't see him much around here. But he might put in an appearance at the Christmas party. Unless something big is going on, he's busy elsewhere." Rangiku hopped off his desk and beamed at him. "Let me know if you find out what's happening in there. My break's over so I'll see you later!" She waved cheerily and left.
Ichigo couldn't stop thinking about all this new information. Grimmjow was divorced? Possibly because he cheated?
Before long though, Tia was leaving the office. She glanced at Ichigo, gaze lingering for a moment before she too was gone. Sneaking a glance into the office he saw Grimmjow sitting at the desk, head in his hands. Something about his posture signalled defeat. Whatever they had been arguing about, Grimmjow seemed to have lost.
Biting his lip indecisively, Ichigo got up after a moment to make the man a coffee. Grimmjow looked up as he entered the office but his frown softened as Ichigo walked over.
"I figured you could use this," Ichigo said plainly, placing the drink down carefully. There was no point in pretending he hadn't witnessed the argument go down. Especially with Rangiku sitting at his desk the entire time.
Grimmjow pushed himself up, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks." Ichigo turned to leave, not wanting to be thought of as nosy. Even if he was insanely curious. "Are you free this weekend?"
He paused, turning to find Grimmjow watching him. Was that an invitation for a date? Or did Grimmjow need some extra work doing? Either way, it didn't matter because he was busy.
"No," he said after a pause, long enough to make it awkward. "I promised my dad I would visit this weekend. I only go down every few months."
Grimmjow nodded and looked down at his coffee. "It's fine, don't worry about it."
"I'm free the weekend after? Or... I'm always here during the week.:
Another pause and Ichigo felt he'd overstepped the mark. He was curious what Grimmjow had wanted but at the same time, didn't want to sound so eager.
"Forget it," Grimmjow said softly, still staring at the coffee. "Just..." He stopped, sighing deeply. "It doesn't matter. Just forget I asked."
"Oh, ok."
After a few seconds, it became apparent Grimmjow had no more to say so he left. Sitting down at his desk, Ichigo didn't dare look up in case he was being watched. He focused on the monitor instead, determined not to let his mind wander.
But wander it did.
Was it impulsive? Something to do with Grimmjow's argument with Tia? Did Grimmjow genuinely find him attractive and ask him it? Was he upset by the rebuff so he called it off? Or was it that Grimmjow had so much work he needed help to get through it all.
All these questions and more plagued him through the afternoon. It was a relief when six o'clock rolled around so he could leave. Grimmjow had left half an hour previously, not even saying goodbye. This stung, even if Ichigo wasn't willing to admit it.
As Ichigo was getting ready to leave he noticed a mug still sat on Grimmjow's desk. From what he'd seen, Grimmjow was quite tidy and organised. He found the office unlocked so went inside to grab the mug and found it still full of now cold coffee.
Sighing, Ichigo turned to leave with the mug, pausing when he heard footsteps. Crouching down out of sight, Ichigo backed under Grimmjow's desk. He wasn't sure why he was hiding but instinct had warned him not to be spotted. Peering through the blinds he saw it was Tia and she was heading right for Grimmjow's office.
Panicking now, Ichigo curled up into a ball, cursing himself for getting caught in this stupid situation. Breathing quietly, he tried to keep as quiet as possible when the door opened and he heard heeled feet approach the desk. Tia seemed to pause for a moment then the sound of her feet leaving had him relaxing.
Ichigo waited another five minutes, just to be sure it was safe before crawling out. There was a letter on Grimmjow's desk. Looking closer he could see it was from the courts. So there was a legal issue with their divorce?
Whatever the reason, it was none of his business. Ichigo quietly left the office, cleaning up the mug before grabbing his bag. He was thankful not to run into anyone on his way out, Rangiku, Tia or otherwise.
Getting in the elevator, Ichigo sighed as the doors shut, closing his eyes. That had been a close call. For whatever reason, his instincts were warning him against Tia but that could be because of his favouritism of Grimmjow. Either way, he was glad there hadn't been a confrontation.
He could only hope it would never happen again.