I gotta say, I hate this chapter. Not because anything bad happens, so don't get your panties in a wad, but...I just hate it. I had my girlfriend read it, my gay friend read it, a few friends read it, and they all say it's fine and that, and I quote, "Every story has to have some kind of cliff hanger or drama, whether it be small drama, big drama, it doesn't matter. S'long as it's drama." This coming from the most laid-back, hippy-ish person I know. ANd they want drama. Is anybody else going 'huh?!'

So, yeah, I added a wee bit of drama, angst, hurt/comfort, whatever you wanna call it. And...this chapter happened. I dunno, it feels...slow, I guess. Or, maybe it's too fast, maybe I crammed to much dialog in. Please, tell me. I hated this chapter.

ANYWAYS, Bleach isn't mine.

Please read&review!

-Ichigo-

I watched Grimmjow get up off the couch and head for the door. He put his hand behind his back, like he was reaching for something, but, after the last ten years in New York, I immediately recognized that as him reaching for a gun or weapon. I sucked in a breath, alarmed, but then I remember that it was Grimmjow. He peeked through the peep hole and sighed.

"Who is it?" I asked. He turned and grinned sheepishly.

"Well, you've met them before, but you may not want me to let them in…" He trailed off as he looked anxiously back at the door when the person on the other side started banging on the door and simultaneously ringing the doorbell. "Yeah…they're persistent…" Grimmjow looked like he wanted to laugh.

"Let them in. Apparently, today it's 'the more, the merrier.'" I said, grinning. Grimmjow just nodded and breathed two deep breaths before he grabbed the door knob and opened the door.

The door didn't get half way open, though, before a smaller, silver-haired male jumped on Grimmjow. Grimmjow was apparently ready for this, as he steeled himself and barely wobbled when the force impacted with his chest. The smaller male wailed, "GRIMMY! WHERE YA BEEN! WE BEEN SO WORRIED 'BOUTCHYA CAUSE YA DIDN' COME HOME AN' YA DIDN' CALL AND NNOI'S MISSIN' TOO! WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO?!"

Surprisingly, Grimmjow shoved him to the ground and opened the door wider for the other people to come in. I recognized everyone but the one that had first come through the door. It was Grimmjow's friends, Starrk, Ulquiorra, and his little sister. Nel squealed and rushed through the door next, then in came Ulquiorra dragging a sleepy Starrk. He dragged Starrk into the living room and shoved him so that he plopped onto it in the spot Grimmjow had previously occupied. Nel rushed over to me and jumped on me, hugging me as tight as she could.

"Where is Nnoitra?" Ulquiorra asked in a monotone voice. Just as Grimmjow was about to answer, a rough voice from the hallway answered for him, "Getting a blowjob from a frisky, talented blonde. And then some. Would've gotten a second one, had you assholes not come barging in. And tell me that wasn't Gin I heard wailing."

Nnoitra grimaced as he heard the silver-haired male before let out a squeal of happiness and run towards him. Just as the smaller male was going to try and tackle him as well, Nnoitra side-stepped at the last moment. A shirtless, flushed Shinji walked from his room in sweatpants and to the kitchen, patting Nnoitra's chest on the way, saying, "You really should treat your friends better."

The silver-haired man popped off the ground and started wildly looking around the room, his eyes finally landed on me. He grinned wider, "You Ichi?" he asked. I studied his face, which resembled that of a snake, what with the way his eyes were always closed and he had a constant grin. I was going to respond, but Shiro chose that moment to shoot up off the ground with a scowl on his face.

"Yeah, an' who d'ya think ya are, bargin' in 'ere an' runnin' around makin' noise an' inneruptin' ma vict'ry o'er these losers an' not even botherin' ta intr'duce yerselves?" Shiro demanded. Gin's grin turned seductive and he walked closer to Shiro, held out a hand, and told him, "Well, excuse me, then. Ma name's Ichimaru. Gin Ichimaru. Call me Gin, please. And I suspect your name is 'Handsome Devil?'" Gin looked innocent enough, though, if you looked close, tilted your head, and squinted, he was obviously flirting. Shiro grinned back and grabbed the hand and shook it hard. "Well, s'nice ta meetchya, Gin, an' actually, ma name's Shirosaki Ogichi. 'M Ichi's twin." Gin grinned and nodded.

"OH FOR GOD'S SAKE. Shiro, you just met him." I sighed, exasperated. Shiro sputtered indignantly. "B-but Ichi! H-he-I-I didn't start it this time!" I nodded. "Whatever. Look, guys. Everyone. Come in, shut the door, please. By now, it's almost noon – it's lunch time. Nnoi, will you call the pizza place and order seven. I don't care what kind they are, but everybody has to agree to at least one. I'll go make some tea. Grimmjow, I want to talk to you in the kitchen – alone." I stated firmly. Grimmjow paled a little, like he was afraid I would go off again, and walked silently to the kitchen as everybody else settled into the living room. "Shin, Shiro, you guys pick out a movie. Each of you two pick ten movies from the collection and have people vote. We'll watch the one most picked. If there's a tie, I'll decide." They both nodded and Shinji wrenched himself from Nnoitra's grasp, leading Shiro to the Movie closet, as I grabbed Grimmjow by the arm roughly and dragged him into the kitchen.

I shoved Grimmjow into the pantry door and scowled at him fiercely. "What on Earth do you think you're doing?!" I whispered harshly. He looked frightened.

"W-what d'you mean, Ichi? I-I don't recall- I mean, if you didn't want me to let my friends in-"

I shoved him in the shoulder – hard. I almost yelled at him, but managed to keep my voice down to a harsh whisper. "You brought a gun in here and you didn't tell me?!" I demanded as I reached around him, and before he could react, I yanked the .22 caliber pistol out of his waistband. I popped the cartridge out and threw it on the island. I shook the gun in his face. "This is never allowed back in this house do you understand?! This is-" I was cut off as someone else came in. The one person I didn't want to see the gun. Shinji.

"Hey, Ichi! It's a tie between 'The Conjuring' and 'Pacific Rim' so will you come-" Shinji stopped short in the doorway, his eyes going wide as he cut himself off with a huge gasp. Then, he started shaking, backing up. "N-nnnnnnnnno. Nonono. I-is th-that a – is that a pistol?" Shinji whispered. I hurriedly put it down, pushing the cartridge as far away from the pistol as physically possible on the island. "Yes, but Shin, it's not loaded, so – SHIRO GET IN HERE! NOW! – just calm down. It's okay." I stopped as Shiro skidded to a stop right behind Shinji.

"What is it, Ichi? What's – why's Shin shaking?" Shiro put his hands on Shinji's hips and turned him around slowly. He sucked in a breath at Shinji's silently weeping, wide-eyed face. I winced and went over to stand behind where Shinji was. I looked up at Shiro and looked into his eyes.

"I know you saw it, too, earlier. I know you're furious. Grimmjow just didn't know. Just…I'll make him his special tea, yeah? Don't get mad, Shiro, I mean it. It's not loaded anymore and it won't ever be in this house again. Take him in there, don't tell Nnoitra what's going on. Just let him sit between you and Nnoi and he'll be fine. And I don't care who wants to watch what. Put in Shin's favorite movie. I know you know it. Okay?" I whispered. Shiro nodded his consent and lead Shinji back to the living room with one hand on the small of his back and the other on his upper arm. It really made me happy that Shiro looked at Shinji like a brother and always helped him when I couldn't.

I turned back around to see Grimmjow looking down at the floor guiltily, like a scolded child…except, it was a little funny because he looked so fierce with his piercings and the glare he could pull off and how he was six-foot-four, at least. I sighed and walked over to him, knocking him on the forehead with my knuckled once. "Grimm…it really isn't your fault. Shinji's had a bad past with guns, hates them, would destroy every gun in the world if he was allowed. He…he's always kinda been oblivious to the world around him. After living in New York so long, I've picked up body language and signs. Things like how to tell if someone's in distress or upset, if they're comfortable or uncomfortable in a conversation. Things like how to tell if they're reaching for a weapon. I taught that to Shiro, so that he would know too. So, other than Toshiro, who taught himself like me, Shiro and I are the only ones in the group able to immediately recognize things like that. It really scared me when I saw you put your hand in reach of the gun. Don't get me wrong, I love shooting guns. I like rifles better than pistols, yes, but I'm still a really good shot with about any gun. Don't tell Shinji that, either. I'm sorry I got so mad, I just…it just really freaked me out. Oh, and don't tell Shinji this either, but I actually have a rifle under my bed and a really nice knife under my pillow. So, how about this. You can bring your gun with you, if you tell me before you get here. When you do, make sure to go straight to my bedroom and put under the bed, next to the rifle. And always unload it before you leave the room, okay? Otherwise, I don't mind. But, someday, you'll have to tell me why you're packing power in such a nice little town." I tapped him on the nose as he nodded and then went to start tea.

"Hey, Ichi?" Grimmjow asked. I hummed in response. "Hey, uh…d'ya think I could come and talk to ya if I needed to? Like…can I…" He trailed off as though he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. I turned towards him after I set the kettle to boil and walked back over to rest against the island in front of him. "Grimm, you can always tell me anything. Hell, I'm not even sure I'd care if you some drug cartel lord. I just know that I got my very first best friend back and I'm never losing him again. It was torture to go through Mom's death without someone else there. By the time I actually made friends, I had given up on getting over Mom's death and never talked about it with any one. All I could ever think was 'if I'd had Grimmjow, everything would be okay.' I always thought that someday you were going to appear on the football field, one day while I watched Shi practice and you were going to take off your helmet and look up and grin at me. You look a little different than I'd imagined you would when you grew up, but I still don't care. I just always wanted…I mean, I'd even look around sometimes, hoping I'd see you grinning at me or fighting with some twit that fucked with you about our hair again. But, no. Never. Now that I have you back, you're never leaving my sight again. So, yes. Grimm. In short, you can tell me anything, as long as you still talk to me." Why am I talking so much? Why? I never talk this much? I breathed in a deep breath and turned back towards the stove to watch the kettle boil. I just wanted those thoughts to go away. I had just moved back to the first place I knew and something was already screwing with my mind.

The kettle whistled, and when I turned around to ask Grimmjow to grab some tea cups, he wasn't there. I sighed, grabbed a tray, and put thirteen cups on its surface. I filled them all with tea and made sure to turn all but one handle towards me so that I knew which one was Shinji's. I put a bit of Peppermint Oil in his to help sooth his headache and come Citrus Oil to help his nerves. We'd found a little bottle of each in a shop in Manhattan and it really seemed to help when he woke up with night terrors.

I set the tray down on the coffee table and handed Shinji's to him first. I let everybody else grab their cups and then plopped in Shiro's lap. I reached over and took the last cup and sipped at it while Shiro dragged a blanket down from the couch and laid it over us. I looked over to see Shinji sipping at his tea contently in Nnoitra's lap and Nnoitra running his fingers through Shinji's long blonde hair. I smiled and turned to sit sideways on Shiro's lap so that I could rest my head on his shoulder and fall asleep during the movie. Renji got up, put the movie in the player and pushed the start button. No one said a word for the rest of the time the movie was playing. Shinji fell asleep first, Nnoitra following closely behind, then Gin, Shiro, Nel, and I realized that Starrk had been asleep the whole time anyways. I fell asleep next, and when I woke up, the credits on the TV were playing and everybody was sleeping. Except…Grimmjow. He wasn't even in the room, but the front door was open, so I silently slipped away from Shiro and tiptoed to the door.

Well, thanks for reading! Please review! Any thoughts you have, I don't mind!

XD

-T