I apologize for the late update and any typos that may be in this. I hope you enjoy it! :D Thanks for reading.
Nami and Ichigo had been carried to a nearby military base to the secret underground lab. Secrets and military - no shocker there. However, the goofy and lecherous Kisuke Urahara not only being a scientist but a high ranking military spy - now that had been quite an unexpected surprise. He led them down the too white, too bright hallway that stifled them with the typical sickening hospital smell of antiseptic.
Large windows lined the hallway that offered a clear view of each patient's room. Most of the big windows were either curtained or darkened and Nami avoided looking into the ones that weren't either of those. Needless to say she was too afraid of what she might see in a secret lab. Leaning heavily on Ichigo, she clutched at his jacket while he helped her proceed down the never ending hallway. She did not know whether to be relieved or horrified when they stopped in front of a window to a dimly lit room. Gathering her courage, she let go of her best friend and the second man who loved her unconditionally. Touching the tip of her nose to the cool glass, she pressed her palms against the smooth barrier separating her from the man she had been longing for.
Grimmjow lay in the hospital bed with yards of wires attached to him. Most of his face was obscured by the oxygen mask covering it, but he appeared to be in his human form. Tonight was a full moon. How was this possible?
Nami's knees weakened and she whimpered with the effort to keep herself standing. She felt a hand on the small of her back before Kisuke stepped up next to her.
"He's all right despite how bad it looks. He's in a drug induced coma," he explained, pulling her to his side as a comforting gesture rather trying to be a pervert – for once. Taking a deep breath he continued. "I've been experimenting on him for the last month. At his request."
"But why?" she asked, too weak to respond violently to the news.
"He wants to become human," he said frankly, looking down at her when she began to tremble. "For you."
Ichigo made a sound somewhere between a grunt of disapproval and a demeaning chuckle. He whirled around, walking away a few steps to avoid the stares of the other two people. 'Human indeed. How can a monster become human?' he thought to himself, pressing his lips together to keep words from forming.
"I don't want him to be human. He was sweet and pure like he was. What did you do, Kisuke?" she inquired, grasping the lapels of his lab coat. "Please, tell me you didn't destroy everything that was good about him."
"Don't be so dramatic, Nami. Calm down," he chided her gently, patting her back.
"It's only the physical effects. He won't be turning into a cat again. I haven't quite managed to rid him of the in between form but it's better," he clarified, stroking her long brown hair. "I stopped giving him the medication this morning to keep him under. He could wake up in a few hours or a few days. I'm not sure."
"Can I…can I go in and see him at least?" she inquired, looking up into his big gray eyes.
"Of course you can," he told her, giving her a fleeting embrace.
Nami placed her shaking hand on the freezing cold door handle and pushed open the door. She kept her eyes on the still form in the bed as she apprehensively approached. Sitting down on the side of the bed beside him, she pressed her hand against his bare chest over his heart. The sensation of his warm, smooth skin beneath her fingertips was so comforting. She closed her eyes, relishing the beat of his heart pulsating through her fingertips.
"Oh, Grimmy, I've missed you so much," she whispered, bending forward to kiss his forehead.
Ichigo watched her from the other side of the window with Kisuke standing beside him. He did not notice the other man staring at him as he observed the tender scene being played out in front of his eyes. Why was he torturing himself by watching this? He did not understand it himself.
"You love her don't you?" Kisuke queried with concern as he noticed the man's face darkening with an expression of anger and jealousy.
"Figure that out all by yourself there genius?" Ichigo retorted harshly before he could stop himself.
"Hmmm," the scientist muttered, gazing at the man like he was the latest test subject. "Would you like to be taken home? I can arrange that."
"Sure," he answered tersely.
"Do you want to tell her good-bye?" Kisuke asked, watching his expression turn to one of deep sadness.
Humans were the most bizarre creatures. Their emotions alone would provide years of study with all sorts of interesting data. Unfortunately, he was sure in the end it would prove to be a useless endeavor to attempt to understand the human gamut of emotions. There would be no real conclusion as to why humans feel the way they do or willingly lay themselves open to some of the heartache they do.
"No," Ichigo replied, turning away from the window when her shoulders began to shake from her tears. He could not endure anymore of her tears. "I think it would be better if I just leave."
~\..'../~
Grimmjow felt a comforting, soft body pressed next to his. There was a familiarity to the figure as his hands gently explored the contours, sliding along the arms then back up the sides. Breathing in deeply, he could smell her well-known scent: it was his beloved Nami. He wanted to open his eyes but it felt as if his eyelids had been glued together. Groaning with annoyance from his uncooperative body, he rolled over toward her, satisfied to hold her in his arms.
"Grimmy," Nami whispered, fitting her body to his when his arms enclosed her. "I've missed you."
"I wondered if I would ever see you again," he mumbled drowsily, pressing his face against her neck.
Nami had been waiting two days for him to wake up. The oxygen mask and all of the tubes except for the IV for fluids had been removed yesterday. She had talked to him for hours about anything and everything while he was still unconscious. Kisuke had brought her food to eat and books to read to keep her busy. Her mind had wandered to thoughts of Ichigo many times during the long hours of waiting. It had hurt her feelings that he had deserted her after taking such good care of her, but she guessed it was to be expected since she was with Grimmjow. She had often speculated as to why Ichigo was so good to her in the first place. Most men would not have bothered with her anymore once she admitted to loving someone else. But he was different; both men she loved were decidedly different not only from each other but from all other men. It had been a disconcerting truth to admit to herself that she loved Ichigo after all. She had been lying to herself and worst of all, lying to him, when she had told him that she did not feel that way and only wanted to be friends. The last two days had left her with way, WAY too much time to think.
Nami gasped in surprise when she felt Grimmjow's lips on hers. She pulled away at first because she had been deep in thought about a certain orange haired hero who had been her caretaker.
"What's wrong?" he asked, opening his deep blue eyes. She was a bleary haze in front of him but his eyes slowly brought her lovely face into focus. He had missed her so much.
"Nothing," she lied, gazing into the eyes the color of a cloudless, endless sky. She closed her eyes and pulled his lips back to hers for a welcome back kiss. Keeping the kiss short so it would not lead to other temptations, she snuggled into him afterward.
Grimmjow held her without saying a word. His fingers caressed her cheek while her other cheek was pressed against his chest. It felt good to have her near, to be holding her once more. At some points during the treatment he doubted he would ever see her again because he was in so much pain he thought he would die and other times he wished he could die to escape the agony. But he wanted to be human for her, to be with her. He wanted to be able to go out in public with her without acting like a freak or being confined to the house during certain times due to his condition. He did not want to bring her shame or endanger her life again. If no one knew what he was, if there was some way to stop being that, he would do so to protect her.
"Grimmy, why?" she asked, tracing the needle marks on his arms and chest from the hundreds of injections he had undergone.
"Because I love you," he said, pressing her hand over his heart. Not only did her fingers tickle moving over the marks, he did not want to be reminded of them.
"I love you too. Just like you are… I mean, were…whatever," she mumbled, irritated with herself that she could not find the right words. Were there any for an occasion like this?
The door flew open and Kisuke hurried into the room scaring the life out of the two people lying in the bed cuddled together. He chuckled with ruthless mirth from the shocked expressions on their faces from his sudden entrance.
"Glad you two weren't in the middle of anything," he chortled, taking Nami's hand to help her out of the bed. He was actually here with serious intentions. Pulling the syringe out of his pocket, he proceeded to give Grimmjow his required daily injection of human growth hormone to stimulate the pituitary gland which had all but stopped working during the last few weeks of gene and dna manipulation. It was a good thing the man had enhanced healing capabilities or he would be dead right now. The damage to his body had made the induced coma essential in his healing.
"Kisuke, how long will he have to stay here?" she inquired, standing next to the bed beside him.
"I'm not sure. Why? Do you have somewhere to go?" he rejoined, turning to look at her.
"No, no I don't," she answered, thinking about the predicament she was in for the first time in weeks.
Indeed, Nami had no place to go. She had no job to go to and with no job she would soon have no house. What was she going to do? Sighing deeply, she moved to drop down heavily into the chair behind her as the full weight of her situation pressed down on her mentally. She blanched violently when the cute blonde's face suddenly appeared a few inches in front of hers.
"You can stay here as long as you need to. He's not going anywhere anytime soon and I could use a good lab assistant. At least someone to type up all of my notes. You know how to do that and can do it well," he said, smiling kindly at her. He took her hand in his, squeezing it gently to reassure her.
For once he was being serious and not hitting on her in some bizarre, roundabout way. Kisuke felt partially responsible for almost completely ruining her life. If he had never allowed for Grimmjow to be created, there would not be so much collateral damage now; lives lost, property destroyed, and emotional pain all around for everyone involved. It was now his turn to heave a loud sigh as the matter settled almost cripplingly on his shoulders. This little science experiment had far reaching implications beyond the ethical and moral dilemma which he had ignored completely at the inception but was coming back to haunt him at this time.
"Hey, Kisuke?" Nami called, reaching out to touch his cheek. "I'm glad you're not the bad guy I thought you were. What's done is done and we will get through this somehow. Right?"
"Yeah. We will get through this," he rejoined, immediately developing a new, familial affection for her. He kissed her on the top of her head thinking of her as his new little sister. 'Adopting' her was the least he could do to repay her for the misery he had inadvertently caused her.