5. Deadline

The jingle of the door opening cut through the quiet chatter that filled Cafe Sixx. Save for maybe two other people, the cafe was particularly empty today. So, any entering customer gained full attention from the staff.

"Welcome to Cafe Sixx!" Nel cheered, bowing to the tall gentleman. As she rose, and gained a better look at him, she felt a heat rise to her cheeks. He seemed lean, beneath the lazily fit sweater. Pitch black hair fell and framed his face, but managed not to cover his equally dark eyes under long eyelashes that reminded Nel faintly of sapphires. 'Waaah, he's hot!' Nel mentally cheered. Suddenly enamored, she just barely came back to her senses as he started to answer her.

"I'm looking for a woman named Ai..." Nel mentally remarked at how deep his voice was. "Ai?" she asked, pulled from her own thoughts "Ah, she's at the last booth. Can I bring you anything?" "Just a regular coffee, please." Nel nodded, still entranced. She watched the man make his way to the table, before starting to chat politely with Ai.

From behind the counter, an irritated, but familiar growl errupted, "Nel! Wake your ass up!"

Startled out of her stupor, she turned to the men behind the counter. "Hey," she started, voice lowered to a whisper, "How do you think he knows Ai?" Grimmjow only glared at the woman who was now uncomfortably close to his face. "How the fuck should I know?" "Think it could be her boyfriend? He's def' cute enough! And it totally explains why she's dressed so cute today." "Why would that matter?"

Nel stared at her boss, wondering if he was dropped as a child, "Appearance is important! Girls dress extra cute when they like a guy. Duh." "That's stupid. Who cares about that?" "I can see why you don't have a girlfriend." "I've had girlfriends!" Grimmjow barked, slamming his fist on the counter. With her eyes narrowing suspiciously, Nel opened and closed her mouth a few times, before deciding not to repeat her thoughts aloud.

"Still. I wanna know if he's her beau or not." "I. Don't. Knoooow. Also, why do you care?" Nel stared at Grimmjow, "She's my friend. Duh. And if this is the creeper that made her feel hella crappy the day you bullied her, I wanna know."

"I did NOT bully her!" He growled, mildly offended by this accusation. "If it is that guy, it's her own business anyway!"

"It's not." Ichigo finally interjected, leaning on the counter by Grimmjow, who stared up at him with an incredibly confused expression. "Not?" "That's not her boyfriend. That's her editor." he continued. Now both Nel and Grimmjow stared at the ginger haired man. "How do you know, Icchi?"

Visibly irritated, Ichigo sighed heavily as he turned his attention to Grimmjow. "She told both of us this morning when she came in that she invited him here for a meeting! Grimmjow, she asked 'you' in particular. Am I the only one that listens when she talks?!" "I listen!" Grimmjow defended, before quietly adding, "...sometimes." Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Nel... Here." Ulquiorra said, appearing at Grimmjow's other side, gesturing to the cup of coffee he had placed on the counter. Suddenly remembering her job, Nel took the cup. "Thanks, Ulqui!" she smiled. A thought made her grin widen, 'With this, I can listen in with no problem!' With new determination, she was off to serve the new gentleman.

"You know your deadline is coming up, right? If I don't have at least a rough draft soon, I won't be able to hold off the publishers for much longer." "I know..." Ai sighed, staring forlornly at the rabbit drawn in the foam of her latte. "I just need a little more time." "Ai, you've had six months, and four push-backs already. I'm not sure what you want me to do."

She had known her editor for upwards of six years now, and he had always been one of the few people that supported her dream. Byakuya had become a good friend and ally to her, leaving her feeling very depressed that she would be letting him down once again.

A soft sigh escaped the older man, "Ai, I want to help you. I read your first few chapters, and they're very good for someone your age. You could write a best-seller if you put your mind to it." Ai's frown only seemed to deepen. "I am trying. It's just... I've had school to worry about and other things on my plate." She mumbled, as her brow furrowed and she began to visibly tensed.

"Other things?" Byakuya started, before Nel appeared at the side of their table.

"Here's your coffee, sir!" Her cheery voice announced with a smile, glancing between the two. Byakuya watched Nel silently, as the woman turned to Ai with pointed attention.

"Ai! Is there anything else I can get you?" she asked, her tone intently gentler than before. Pulled from her wallowing, Ai could only shake her head in a daze "Um... No, I'm okay. Thanks, Nel."

Nel nodded, lingering a few more minutes before returning to the bar, but continued to watch their table a little too intensely.

"A friend?" Byakuya asked cooly. He fixed his coffee before sipping it. Ai nodded, a small smile coming to her face. "Yeah. Nel is definitely a keeper." "I'm surprised." he retorted, "You're not usually drawn people like her. Are you broadening your horizons?" Pouting, Ai shot a halfhearted glare at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Byakuya shrugged, leaning his elbows on the table. "When I met you, you had two friends." "I was 19. Two was plenty." "Now you have your friends at uni and a whole cafe." "More like 3/4ths of a cafe"

"I'm happy for you." A small smirk graced Byakuya's features. "Smart ass."