Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You could hear the muffled voices behind the shoji screen of Urahara’s shop. Breathing into your hands and rubbing them together to fight the chill of the winter night air, you quirked a brow. It sounded like there was an argument of some kind taking place. Tentatively, you knocked on the wood frame before silence fell behind the screen. You buried your head lower in your knitted scarf, finding relief in its warmth as you dug your hands into your jacket pockets.

“Hey, it’s me.” You called out. Turning your head slightly to examine your surroundings. The place was a tip. Urahara really let this place go. You mused to yourself internally. You wondered briefly what could have happened to have caused such a mess. The van that was usually parked to the side was overturned, with deep dents in its metallic body work. From this angle, you could see the exposed underbelly of piping that had all been half torn out in a mangled mess of metal work. The porch, that Ururu and Jinta so diligently swept was marred by deep scratch marks that clawed all the way to the entrance, splintering the wood. Trash was everywhere, bins over turned and half thrown across the yard. Your first thought had been Hollow attack.

You nearly jumped out of your skin when the shoji screen suddenly slammed open and you blinked as the light hit your eyes that had grown accustomed to the darkness of the Karakura streets at night, lit by nought but dim street lights.

“Y/N, how’s it going?” Speaking of the devil. The man smiled at you from beneath his striped hat and the bristled fuzz that grew on his chin. “You’re just in time.”

You raised a brow.

“Urahara, why’d you call me out so late? I’ve got class in the morning.” You huffed, folding your arms across your chest. The older man’s lips stretched into an amused grin.

“You’d better come in.” He drawled, moving to the side so you could step in warily.

Blinking, you looked around at the different faces that stared back at you. One in particular looked thoroughly pissed off at seeing you here.

“What’s she doing here?” The strawberry blonde snarled, pushing himself to his feet and pointing in your direction. You rolled your eyes and shrugged out of your jacket.

“Show some respect, little brother.” You bit back, unfurling your scarf from your neck and placing it on the coat stand with your jacket before your eyes travelled the room. The familiar faces of Ichigo’s friends all looked to you in mild surprise. Orihime, Uryuu, Chad, Rukia. They all exchanged nervous looks when you furrowed your brows.

“Urahara, what’s going on?” You frowned, the tension in the room could cut a knife. You recognised the tall man with spiky red hair that leaned against the wall as one of the soul reapers your brother had dealings with as well as the others perched around the room. The one with the bald head that had stayed with your class mate Mizuho, who did nothing but gush about him for a week straight, sneered in your direction.

“Oh, this is gonna be fun.”

You blinked once more before hearing a commotion in the hall.

“This, my friends, is the answer to our predicament.” The older man behind you placed a hand on your shoulder and you shivered, not liking where this was going. Ichigo shook his head with a scowl, in denial.

“No. No way. She’ll die.” He spat. Your eyes widened and you shrugged the man’s hand off your shoulder.

“Just what the hell is going on? Is someone going to tell me or-“

The screen to the hall burst open and your face fell.

“Y/N dear, you’re here!” Cried the excited voice of the strawberry blonde, buxom woman who you dreaded having to see again. She sent a dazzling grin your way before turning her attention to her captain who sighed behind her.

“Contain yourself, Rangiku.” He growled under his breath.

You placed your hands on your hips.

“I don’t like where this is going.”

The third seat of district eleven flipped his hair and sent you a wry smile.

“Oh, it’s about to get much worse, my dear.”

You shot Yumichika a dirty look as Rukia stood.

“Y/N, there’s no easy way to say this but-“

“Let me fucking go! I’ll kill you all, you think I won’t? Gimme’ my sword and you’re all dead- No, I’ll strangle you with my bare hands- Oof!” Rangiku smiled wryly as she smacked the figure upside his head which was covered with a burlap bag. You narrowed your eyes and turned to Urahara who waved nervously in your direction.

“No. Absolutely not. Not after last time. I refuse.” You spat, thinking back to the hell you went through with so generously, being press ganged by the man in front of you smirking, volunteering to open your home to one of Ichigo’s soul reaper friends. “I told you after that spiky haired freak and his kid blew a hole in my wall that that was the last time I would let a damned soul reaper into my apartment.”

Kisuke fanned himself, attempting to hide his laugh.

“I remember, dear Y/N. But this is no mere soul reaper, I assure you.” He bit back a laugh. You turned and stomped over to the figure knelt between the Captain and Lieutenant of district ten, thrashing his body around like a shark with his hands bound behind his back. You grabbed the sack off of his head and all but tore it off, and taking a few hairs whilst you were at it with the way the captive yelled out a curse. The sack fell to the floor as you narrowed your eyes at the man who looked as feral as he sounded just moments before. Wide, primal teal eyes glowed up at you as his fangs bared to you.

“Who the hell are you?” He spat. You turned to Urahara, completely ignoring the crazed man knelt before you.

“A fucking Arrancar?” You snarled, “You can’t be serious?”

“Hey, I’m fucking talking to you!” The teal haired Espada growled.

“Shut it!” You snapped, grabbing the bag and shoving it back on his head.

“That’s it, you’re fucking dead, you bitch! C’mere and let me kill you!-“

“Bakudo: Chitose no kysoku!” You grumbled under your breath, placing two fingers on the bag, roughly in the location of the Arrancar’s temple and watched with narrowed eyes as yellow tendrils of spirit energy stretched from the tips of your nails and curled around the struggling male Espada’s head in a humming mist before he stilled and slumped, falling quiet.

“And that is why you’re the lady for the job.” Urahara chuckled behind his fan. You rolled your eyes and grabbed the back of the Arrancar’s jacket before he could topple over, dragging him to the entrance with struggle.

“You owe me for this, old man.” You snarled, “It’s a good thing I had the hindsight to bring the damned car.”

“Wait, Y/N, you’re not seriously gonna go through with this, are you?” Ichigo guffawed as he watched you in disbelief as you heaved the limp, muscled body of the sexta espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez to the shoji screen like a sack of potatoes.

“Well, what choice do I have?” You spat, “Better I do it than you. You’d get yourself killed. Or someone else.”

The strawberry blonde growled, heart dropping to his stomach at your subtle jibe towards their mother.

“So, that's how you still feel?” He growled, “It wasn’t my fault what happened and you know it.”

You paused, heart thrumming in your chest. You were doing it again. Being a complete bitch. You knew what you said was uncalled for. It had been eight years but it still hurt to think of her. You had been unkind to your little brother after she died, blaming him entirely. Your relationship with your remaining family was practically non-existent, not without them making effort. But you just… withdrew yourself from them entirely. You jumped at the chance to move out for College, choosing an apartment at the complete opposite end of town just so you could escape and hope to put everything behind you. Rather selfishly. You knew that this wouldn’t be what your mother would want. But you just couldn’t help yourself. You were weak still. And in doing so, you were unkind to your family for it. To her family.

It was Yoruichi who folded her arms and leaned herself against a sideboard behind Ichigo who interrupted, with a stern look on her face.

“Enough. This isn’t the time for brother-sister bickering.” She drawled and you swallowed, hardening your eyes. “We need to take care of him first. And there are some things we need to discuss before you go, Y/N.”

The room fell silent as you stood straight next to your unlikely captive who let out a soft snore beside your foot. The purple haired woman averted her attention to Kisuke Urahara who looked in between you and your little brother inquisitively.

“Kisuke, would you like to do the honours?”

The man hummed from behind his fan.

“Certainly.” He drawled.

“So, a bit of context for you, Y/N.” He started, “His name is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. He is the Sexta Espada and I’m sure you’re all too aware of Sosuke Aizen by now to know that this is more than just your run of the mill Arrancar.”

You looked down at the still body sprawled at your feet, hands still bound behind his back with Kido. Kisuke stared at you, unmoving.

“I won’t lie to you. He’s dangerous. Do not underestimate him.” He said sternly. More stern than you’d ever heard him before. “And given the chance, he will kill you.”

The room was silent, Orihime looked to Ichigo with sorry eyes before averting her attention back to the floor. Kisuke snapped his fan shut with a clap! Before a smile curled his lips.

“Phew! Now that that’s established, “ He chimed, completely changing his tune. You felt like you had whiplash, “Here are the rules!”

“Rule number one: Do not unbind his hands. Not under any circumstances.”

“Rule number two: Do Not allow him to leave your apartment. Aizen’s lackeys will be looking for him.”

“And rule number three: If you have any concerns, you will contact me. I don’t care what time it is, it could be one o’clock in the morning or nine o’clock at night.”

You held your chin in your hands and hummed.

“Okay, that sounds fair. But I have a question,” You stared at the crudely drawn bunny rabbits on the black board, “What’s with the cat things?”

Rukia stood instantly with a scoff.

“They’re chappies! And it’s for visual effect.” She sniffed, “You two are so similar, it’s a surprise you don’t get along.”

You rolled your eyes.

“Right.” You drawled, “Was there anything else before I take this violent lump home?”

The lieutenants of district six, Renji Abarai, and the lieutenant of district nine, Shuuhei Hisagi looked to each other before the first gave you a mirthful grin.

“We’ll stop by every couple of days to check up on ya’. Make sure you’re still alive and all that.”

You snorted.

“How chivalrous of you, Lieutenants.” You scoffed. “And how, exactly, should I expect to attend my classes with this oversized cat threatening to tear my throat out?”

Urahara grinned and flicked a small bead with his thumb to you which you fumbled to catch. You inspected it between your thumb and forefinger.

“A gigai?” You hummed. The older man nodded.

“You know how it works, I presume?”

You thought back to baby sitting duties over the previous summer at your dad’s. When Ichigo thought he was being so slick sneaking out at night to fight hollows with his small soul reaper companion. Of the mod souls Kon who, in your brother’s body had thrown himself at you every chance he got but was quickly met with your foot to his face every time. You fought back a shiver at the traumatic memories of seeing your brother trying to peek up your skirt and hug himself to your chest with vigour. It was the most disturbing and reality warping experience that you’d attempted to block out. And then you’d learned of gigai, and the strange companions Ichigo had begrudgingly been forced to introduce you to when Rangiku had tried but failed miserably to pose as a high school student. The memory had you snorting. Really, what fifteen year old has a set of those things?

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Well, our friend here is wearing one as we speak. He’ll still be dangerous, but no where near at his usual power level. He should be safe to leave on his own throughout the day.” He smiled, “Although, that neat little Bakudo of yours would probably be handy when you’re not around to keep an eye on him.”

You hummed.

“Alright. Say, all goes according to plan and he stays with me without managing to rip my head off.” You drawled, “What then? What do I get out of this?”

Urahara laughed.

“Ever the resourceful one, aren’t you?” He grinned, “Don’t worry, the head captain has assured me that your efforts to our cause will be rewarded greatly.”

You nodded your head slowly but cast your eyes down to the slumbering Espada.

“What happens to him.”

The soul reapers shared a look before captain of the tenth division spoke.

“We have intel to believe that Aizen is planning a full scale war with the Soul Society. The Espada could be key to providing information which we hope,” He sighed, “We hope he might confide in you.”

“Whether he gives this information willingly, most likely not.” Lieutenant Hisagi hummed, “But under your close supervision, watching him twenty four seven of every waking moment, he might just reveal something that could help win this war and prevent the certain destruction of Karakura town, if not, the entire world of the living.”

You deadpanned.

“Wow, that’s a lot of pressure on me.” You laughed nervously, scratching your neck uncomfortably.

Urahara nodded but sent a mirthful grin your way.

“Like I said though, the head Captain will reward you greatly for your contribution.”

You thought for a moment.

“Okay, but you still haven’t told me what happens to him once all of this is over.” You emphasised your point by delivery a swift boot to the Arrancar’s arm, causing him to stir in his sleep. The soul reapers looked to one another before Yoruichi cleared her throat and all eyes settled on her.

“Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez will be executed for his crimes against the soul society.”

You pursed your lips, letting a defeated sigh exhale from your nostrils.

“Fine. I’ll do it.” You drawled and Urahara clapped a hand on your shoulder in thanks. “But if I die, I demand a cushy seat on one of the divisions and a captain’s salary for my troubles.” You grumbled, crouching to hook your arms under the Espada’s before dragging him out of the entrance with a few grunts of your own. The guy was heavy. Renji looked to Ichigo who stared after you with a forlorn expression before he grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Hey, don’t look so bummed out.” He gave the strawberry blonde a toothy grin, “My bets are that she kills him before the week’s out.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes and shrugged the Lieutenant’s hand off of his shoulder.

Chapter Text

The Sexta Espada was groggy when he finally came to his senses. He inhaled, breathing in the soft, perfumed smells of his surroundings. It was unlike the stale, dusty smell of Hueco Mundo. It was soft, floral. And something smelt good. His stomach gurgled, a sound unfamiliar to him; an undead being that required little sustenance other than sleep and a good blood thirsty battle. His brows knitted together painfully as he groaned, his head throbbed and he felt like he’d been risen from the dead. He heard strange sounds, a quiet hum of a melody thrumming from his right and sizzling and popping to his left. He inhaled again, the smell that had his stomach growling like a beast was definitely coming from the left.

His eyes fluttered open and he had to blink a few times to settle his double vision and become accustomed to the warm lights. His throat felt dry, as if he’d swallowed a pint of the sand that would crunch beneath his sandals when walking amongst the endless, moonlit dunes of Las Noches.

“You’re awake.”

He feebly turned his head in the direction of voice that spoke. It was soft, feminine. He attempted to move himself, finding his back against something cold and metal, his back ached from sleeping against it for so long and he grunted. He felt a warm hand brush his teal locks away from his eyes that he struggled to stop rolling around in his skull.

“You must be hungry.”

He processed the words slowly, hungry? His stomach gurgled again, directing his attentions back to the mouth watering smell that invaded his senses. That’s what that was? He hummed as he felt something press against his lips and he opened his mouth instinctively, eyes closed as his tongue prodded at the salty meat before closing his teeth around it, chewing slowly and letting out a purr when he savoured the flavour. The fuck is going on. But he couldn’t stop. It was as if his body acted on instinct alone and he lunged forward, snapping his jaws around the next mouthful like a beast starved. He heard a dry laugh and his eyes peeked open again.

He spat it out instantly, flecks of crispy debris landing on your unamused face. Instantly, you recoiled, ignoring his sudden thrashing as he struggled to break free, wiping the regurgitated food off of your face in disgust. It was you.

“The fuck do you think you’re playin’ at?” He coughed, “Trying to poison me?”

You scowled at him.

“Hardly,” You snapped. “Keeping you alive more like.”

The Espada, suddenly wide awake and with revenge on his brain, thrashed against the metal radiator and growled, baring his teeth at you in a dangerous snarl.

“You’re that bitch from that shop!” He roared, “Lemme’ go, I’m gonna fucking kill you!”

You sighed, with a bored expression.

“You need to calm down.” You drawled, “And you’re hungry. You need to eat.” You lifted the fork up to his face and he snapped his head to the side like an obstinate child, snarling at you.

“Get the fuck away from me!”

You frowned and put the fork in your own mouth, trying to fight back the disgust of sharing cutlery with this guy.

“See? It’s not poisoned, you idiot.” You muffled around the chewing before swallowing. You pierced the prongs of the fork in another sash of crispy bacon, bathed in egg yolk before lifting it to try again with the frantic Arrancar. He pursed his lips and pressed his head against the cold metal of the radiator as far away as he could, clearly intent on not eating what you had to give him. You rolled your eyes.

“Fine.” You snapped, letting the fork fall to the plate with a clang before standing and heading over to the small kitchen, slippers shuffling against the carpet as you dropped the utensils in the sink with a plop as it sank into the water. The Espada watched you with wary, narrow eyes.

“I’ll give ya’ five seconds to let me go before I break out of these things and kill ya.’” He growled, feeling his hackles raise as you let out a scoff.

“Oh sure. Let me weigh up my options while you figure it out.” With another roll of your eyes, you exited the room through another door.

The Espada curled his lip into a snarl. Bitch. He shook his hands behind his back, attempting to break free before huffing. God damn Shinigami magic. He internally growled. Ne sniffed the air and looked around, trying to find a way of escaping. When nothing came to mind, his thoughts turned back to you. Weird. You didn’t look like a Soul reaper. Don’t smell like one either. If you had any spiritual energy at all, he couldn’t pick up on it. You looked human. He growled, all the more reason to break free and strangle the life out of you.

In the bathroom, you listened to him struggle and curse, trying to break free no doubt. You scoffed and got ready for the day. You brushed your teeth, spitting the minty foam of the tooth paste into the sink before gurling a glass of water and draining it afterwards, dropping your toothbrush into the holder with a clink before running the shower.

You pursed your lips as you ran a loofah over your arms and legs, exhaling deeply as you rinsed and began washing your hair. Why did I agree to this? You scolded yourself internally as you bathed, letting the hot water scold your skin and wash away your tension. You ran your hands through your hair and rubbed at your face, groaning. The sooner the Espada was gone, the better. And yet, your heart sank at the thought of his inevitable fate. One that he was oblivious to, no doubt. You shook your head, frowning. His fate was none of your concern. Besides, he deserved what was coming to him.

You turned the shower off and stepped out, grabbing a towel and rubbing yourself try before wrapping it around your head to keep your damp hair up as you rubbed lotion over yourself. You tutted when you realised that you hadn’t brought your clothes in. Shit. You cursed inwardly, realising you’d have to go back out there so soon. Luckily you had another bath towel to wrap around yourself.

Grimmjow’s death glare snapped up when he heard the door knob turn and he watched as you emerged through a cloud of perfumed steam, avoiding his gaze as you attempted to stride confidently across the room in nothing but a towel wrapped around your body. He studied you warily, teal irises rolling over your form, from your head wrapped comically in a towel, down to your chest, down to your legs, towel stopping just above your thighs. He cocked his head.

“All humans dress like that?” He sniffed. You didn’t grace his question with a response, only scoffed as you opened another door and shut it behind yourself. He tutted and studied his surroundings in boredom. It was some kind of living quarters, a fraction of the size of the ones in Hueco Mundo. Aizen was a prick but at least he allowed them some luxuries, sizeable and comfortable living spaces being one of them.

From where he was sat, legs sprawled out in his white hakama, he could see most of the room. A beige sofa sat to his right, cases of books and trinkets near the door where the girl had left  through a door. To where? He wasn’t sure, nor did he really care. His ear twitched when he picked up on that same strange melody. It was coming from some kind of box that sat on the counter in front of him, where she’d discarded that damned, yet delicious, salted meat. He growled, what a strange device. The bass thudded lowly and he could make out a feminine voice singing quietly. Was this some kind of torture device?

A loud whirring suddenly broke his thoughts as his head snapped in the direction of the door you had disappeared behind. He swallowed. What in the hells was that.

It sounded mechanic, like something from that freak szayel’s lab.

Maybe this was it, you would torture him for information. He wriggled his fingers from his binds behind him and wondered how many he would lose by the end of this. Puffing out his chest, he scoffed. He wasn’t a damn coward. He’d rip your throat out the minute you came close enough to even attempt to take any of his limbs.

The sound paused after a few minutes and he narrowed his eyes. Were you fucking with him?

The door opened and you emerged again, wearing something even smaller than that damned towel, and even tighter around your body. You flipped your hair down with a tie in your mouth as you attempted to pull your hair into an updo before you looked into the mirror next to the bookshelf and paused when you saw him in the reflection, watching you distrustfully. You turned your head to him and had to hold back a laugh when he suddenly averted his gaze.

“What?”

The Arrancar’s narrowed eyes snapped back to you.

“Didn’t fuckin’ say anything.” He snarled.

You rolled your eyes.

“Right.” You drawled, “I’m gonna be out for a few hours. Can I trust that you’re not gonna try something stupid while I’m gone?”

The Espada shrugged.

“Ain’t promising anything,” He grumbled, trying to keep his eyes off of you. You sighed and approached him and his glare returned to you, watching as you crouched in front of him with a bored look on your face.

“Look.” You spat, “I’m not exactly happy with this arrangement either, alright? But If you don’t make things difficult, I won’t have to put you to sleep again. Hell, maybe I’ll even put the TV on so you’re not bored out of your mind.”

“The what?”

Your lips quirked up as you grabbed the remote from the kitchen island and switched the television on, watching his eyes widen as it crackled to life and you flicked through the channels until you got to a program you thought he might appreciate.

“What kind of power is this?” He mumbled in awe, eyes watching the television in amazement. You put a hand on your hip as you watched him with amusement, it was like introducing an alien to cable TV.

“So, are you going to behave? I’d quite like an apartment to return to, instead of finding it up in flames when I get back.” You drawled and he just cocked his head, eyes mesmerised by the reality TV show you’d put on.

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t expect me to be here when you get back.” He grumbled, eyes squinting as he attempted to make out what was going on on the screen. You huffed out a laugh.

“Of course, well. This is goodbye I guess.” You mused, “Don’t break anything.”

The Espada didn’t say anything as you took your keys out of the bowl and left, giving him a stern look before you shut and locked the door.

-

You groaned, flexing your shoulders as you parked up the car. You’d been gone for a good four hours before you had a free period. You’d usually take the bus to save on fuel but you didn’t really trust the Espada to be left on his own. You inwardly cursed yourself, you should have Bakudo’d his ass like Urahara had told you to. You were so consumed by images of going home to an apartment block set ablaze when you returned that you struggled to concentrate during class. You’d completely messed up your cheerleading practise, all but tripping over the lace to your converse when you’d attempted a cartwheel.

You were pleasantly surprised when you looked up and everything appeared to be in order.

In fact, things were pleasantly serene.

Humming, you grabbed your back and locked the car, descending the steps to your apartment. You waved to your elderly neighbour when you checked your mailbox only to pause when you heard a loud thump. You looked up at the ceiling and groaned.

“Erm, sorry about that.” You grumbled to Mrs Tanigawa who followed your attention upwards nervously.

“Did you get a cat, dear? She’s been making quite a lot of noise all morning.”

You barely stifled a laugh which earned you a bewildered look from the elderly woman before you cleared your throat.

“A cat, yeah. Sorry about that.” You coughed, “Well, I’d better go and make sure she’s not made a mess. Stupid thing.”

The old lady watched you go with a nervous wave as you bound up the steps in your cheerleading uniform, converse smacking against the steps as you panted and unlocked your door, all but slamming it against the wall so that you could see just what exactly the Sexta Espada had been up to in your absence.

“Yo.” He drawled, inches away from the door, staring up at your with a bored expression. You stared down at him and frowned, tapping your foot impatiently with your arms crossed.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” You drawled, watching as he scoffed.

“Where you think? Fuckin’ nowhere.” He spat and let out an oi! When you rolled him back over to the far side of the your apartment to where he’d started. He struggled against you and you dug your heels into the ground, grunting.

“Stop. Being. So Stubborn!” You spat, pushing against him.

“Fuck! Stop it! You’re makin’ it worse!” He snarled, gritting his teeth. You paused and stood upright, blinking down at him in confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

The Espada hissed as he gestured downward. You followed his attention and raised an eye brow.

“Gah, I can’t describe it! It’s my-“ He grunted, struggling against his bindings. Your face heated.

“Your…?”

The Arrancar spat out a scoff, averting his eyes.

“My fuckin’ cock!” He snarled, “Feel’s like it’s gonna fuckin’ explode!”

You covered your mouth as you tried to hide your laughter. His glare snapped up to you.

“Think this is fuckin’ funny, do ya’?” He growled before groaning, “Fuck! Make it stop!”

You bit your lip. Did Arrancar ever feel the need to piss? One of life’s greatest unanswered questions has been answered I suppose.

“Grimmjow, get up.”

The Espada seemed to ignore you as he continued to thrash. You rolled your eyes and hooked as arm under his own, using your own weight to pull him to his feet, which he stumbled on, like a baby deer on newborn legs and it occurred to you that he probably hadn’t got his head around the concept of gravity.

“Hey! ‘The fuck are you takin’ me!” He snarled before you shoved him into the bathroom and he looked around warily.

“The fuck is this? Some kinda’ torture chamber?”

You stretched around him and pushed the toilet lid up. He watched you distrustfully and you pushed him towards him.

“The fuck was that for?” He growled and you crossed your arms, leaning your hip against the sink with a bored look. You gestured to his pants and then to the toilet.

“Get it out.”

“What?” He snapped. You huffed.

“Your…Cock.” You muttered, fighting the blush that burned your cheeks. The Espada gave you a bewildered look. You sighed, completely mortified.

“Do I have to spell it out for you? Get your cock out and piss in the toilet.” You snapped. The Espada blinked at you, trying to make sense of what you were asking him to do like you were speaking another language.

“I’ve got no idea what you’re talkin’ about,” A toothy grin suddenly stretched across his face, “But unbind me and I’ll do it.” He purred.

Your eyes widened when you suddenly realised your predicament.

You weighed up your options for a moment, face bright red as the Espada watched you and delighted in your inner turmoil. You pursed your lips, brows furrowed as you averted your gaze to the side.

“Er, excuse me a moment. I have to… Take a phone call.” You said, as if the bulking wall of muscle could even understand what you meant by phone call before you shot out of the room, slamming the door shut behind you.

“Hey! Get back in here! Fucking dammit!”

You tried to fan yourself with your hand as you grabbed your phone from your bag and flipped it open, searching through your contacts before pressing the call button. You looked back to the bathroom door as you chewed on your finger nail, cursing Urahara and his lack of urgency when it came to answering his damn phone.

Suddenly the line connected.

“Y/N, everything alright?” His voice was muffled by the speaker and he sounded like he’d just woken up. Who the hell has the time to siesta these days?

“No, we’ve got a problem.” You seethed under your breath.

“Hey, who the fuck are you talkin’ to out there!” Came the very irritable, and probably close to pissing himself, Espada behind the door. You exhaled shakily and pressed the phone to your chest.

“Hang the fuck on!” You shouted through the door, hearing a dammit! In response.

“Y/N, what’s going on? I’m coming over.” You heard the muffling noises of Urahara moving about and you whimpered.

“Wait, don’t go!” You inhaled deeply, mustering the courage to explain just exactly what the fuck was going on. “I-I need some advice.”

The man paused down the line before speaking again.

“Advice? On what?” Came his unsure response. You stuttered and fumbled over your words for a minute.

“You see- the thing is, well, Espada-no, Arrancar,” You took a deep breath, “GrimmjowneedstotakealeakandIdon’tknowwhattodo.”

For a moment there was silence and Urahara cleared his throat.

“Er, could you repeat that?”

You narrowed your eyes, face on fire as you looked back to the door, suddenly worried that it everything had fallen silent.

“Grimmjow,” You seethed behind clenched teeth

“Mhmm.” Was the older man’s response, waiting patiently for you to explain what was going on.

“Needs to take,” You inhaled and groaned, preparing yourself for what you were about to say, “He need to take a leak.”

You covered your face with your spare hand and leaned against the kitchen island.

“A leak?” Your face fell as you heard him attempt to stifle his laughter.

“This isn’t funny!” You spat, cheeks burning, “What do I do?”

“Well, I don’t quite know how to say this but… You’re just going to have to hold it.”

You squawked, feeling your soul leave your body at the thought.

“What do you want me to say, Y/N? There’s not much else you can do.” The man whined, “You unbind his hands, he’ll kill you. I suppose you could call up Ichigo and ask him to do it. But something tells me Grimmjow will be less willing to let Ichigo touch it than you.”

You gulped.

“And how did you come to that conclusion?” You drawled.

“What? Grimmjow’s a hot blooded male. I’m sure he won’t mind a pretty girl touching his thing opposed to our substitute soul reaper that he has a deathly vendetta against.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere in this situation.” You huffed through your nose. “I’m hanging up on you now. I say I let the bastard piss himself and be done with it.”

“Have fun~”

Beep.

You threw your phone to the sofa and tried to remain calm before you inhaled deeply and approached the bathroom again, you can do this. Be strong. You’ve touched worse ones. You manifested internally and opened the floor, finding the espada inspecting your toothbrush suspiciously before standing to attention and turning to face you with a scowl.

“The hell are you playing at-“

“Turn around and face the toilet.” You murmured, cheeks still pink.

“Hah?” The Espada snapped, before to squeezed your eyes shut and grabbed him, positioning him where you needed him to go before you pointed to the toilet.

“There. Toilet. You piss in it.”

Grimmjow stared down at the funny looking porcelain basin with wonder in his eyes before he turned his head to look down at you over his shoulder.

“And how exactly do I that- Hey!” He snapped suddenly, feeling your small hands undoing his hakama and beginning to move his hips away before you snapped at him to stop.

“You said you wanted me to make it stop, right? Well, that’s what I’m doing.” You hissed, pressing yourself flat up against his back so you could reach around to the front of his pants, trying to suppress a shudder as the feeling of his warm, muscular back against your breasts. The espada was speechless as he stared down at your hands as they worked their way inside.

You yelped when you felt it. All soft and rubbery and warm against the pads of your fingers as you pulled him out of his hakama with a flop. You squeezed your eyes shut as you wrapped a small hand around it, swallowing when you realised just how big it was. You dreaded to think of how much bigger it could get when it was fully- Stop. You berated yourself. Focus on the task, quite literally at hand.

And then; Nothing.

You opened your eyes, only to realise the Arrancar was staring at you over his shoulder with a bewildered look.

“C’mon, hurry up.” He stated, making your face fall. You tried to resist pressing it to his back to hide your flustered expression.

“I can’t do that for you!” You cried, “You have to relax. Just do what… comes natural.”

Grimmjow turned back to look down at the strange looking basin, at himself held in your small hand. His brows furrowed when he felt it twitch and you hissed, feeling it begin to harden and grow.

“No, not like- just close your god damned eyes and focus on that explosion feeling you talked about.” You whimpered, pressing a cheek tentatively against his warm back, closing your own eyes in embarrassment. The Espada did as he was told for once and allowed his own eyes to flutter shut, releasing a deep breath and-

There it was.

You pursed your lip as you heard the trickling against the side of the basin. But your eyes blew wide open when you heard him release a guttural moan, throwing his head back in relief. Gods, what has my life become… You inwardly mused to yourself, waiting it out until you were sure he’d finished before you tore off a few squares of toilet roll and dabbed the head dry before tucking him back in and stalking around him with your head bowed in shame. The Arrancar watched you curiously as you pulled the strange metal to the lever and the toilet came to life suddenly, water gushing from the sides of the basin.

You wordlessly turned to the sink and lathered up your hands with soap, rinsing them and hoping to wash away all of your shame.

You grabbed his arm and dragged him back out of the bathroom, face still beet red as you stormed over to the sofa, throwing him on it. The Espada didn’t say a word as you turned on your heel, pausing and turning back briefly.

“You don’t tell a soul about what just happened, got it?” You hissed through clenched teeth and stormed off to the room opposite, slamming the door shut behind you.

Grimmjow tried to process what just happened with turquoise brows knitted together. He wasn’t sure he liked this feeble human body that the man in the funny hat had given him. He’d all but tried to bite his hand off when he’d forced the funny little pill into his mouth and down his throat. But he looked down at his lap.

Did he like the way your hand had wrapped around his cock?

Yes. Yes he did.

Chapter Text

Grimmjow was watching the strange, cursed box with mild disinterest when you finally emerged from the door into the mysterious room, somewhat recovered from your shame as you sniffed and held your head high, moving passed him to the kitchen. The sky outside had begun to darken, painted a mix of purples and pinks as the sun began to sink past the buildings of Karakura town, setting in the West with an orange glow.

Grimmjow watched you over his shoulder with a bored expression as you picked up another strange human object and flipped it open, pressing your thumbs down in series of beeps.

“The fuck are you doing, woman?” He asked gruffly, you’d changed into loose clothing and he cocked his head, studying you in it. Much to his disdain, you didn’t look bad in it. He liked the skimpier little outfit you had on earlier but he supposed it would do. You looked up and him briefly as you pressed the black little rectangle to your ear and leaned over the counter, tracing your finger over it in circles. The Espada pursed his lips as he watched, mesmerised. Those hands. Those fingers. The same small, slender fingers that held his- What. He blinked and averted his gaze, eyebrows furrowing. The hell is happening to me?

He cursed this weak, human body that he’d been stuffed into.

“Yes, can I get a large pepperoni?” You drawled before looking back over to the Arrancar whose attention was back at you when you began speaking, “Actually make that two, sorry.”

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes.

“You talking to me?” He growled, “The fuck are you on about?”

You shushed him and he snarled.

“Yeah, that’s great, thanks.” You murmured before snapping the strange object in your hands closed and placing it on the side. You averted your attention back to the Sexta Espada who looked at you like you’d gone mad before following his gaze to your phone and releasing an oh!

You brought it over to the sofa and showed it to his inquisitive gaze.

“It’s called a phone.” You drawled, watching as he eyed it with curiosity, “It lets you speak to someone far away, even when they’re not in the same place as you.”

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the same device.

“The… fuck?” He muttered, seemingly entranced and ignoring the way you sunk into the sofa cushion beside him as he watched you flip it open and begin pressing the buttons with your thumbs before holding it up to his ear. He listened intently as it beeped in twos, giving you a bewildered stare.

“There’s no one fucking there, you lunatic-“

“Hello? Y/N?”

Grimmjow’s eyes suddenly dilated as he grit his teeth.

“Ichigo you bastard!” He snarled and you attempted to stifle your snort, “Get your ass over here so I can kill you, you fucking coward!”

You took it away with a bored expression as you pressed it to your own ear, watching as Grimmjow began thrashing again to get out of his binds. Maybe that was a bit cruel of you. But it was well worth it. And definitely took your mind off of your previous humiliation.

“Y/N, what the hell is going on over there?” Ichigo yelled down the phone, causing you to cringe slightly.

You sighed absentmindedly.

“Oh nothing, just showing the Espada the delights the human world has to offer. Bye now.” You drawled before flipping it shut, ending the call. Grimmjow panted slightly, narrowing his eyes at you as he snarled.

“The minute I’m free, I’m gonna kill that kid,” He growled, positively feral. “How will you feel? Knowing your precious Ichigo is marked for death?”

You stared at him with a somewhat vacant expression before standing and moving over to the kitchen, murmuring to yourself slightly.

“I really don’t know how to answer that.” You sighed, opening the cabinet to stretch up and grab a glass before turning the tap on and filling it with water.

The Espada eyed you warily as you approached with it, attempting to put it to his lips, making him snarl and turn his head. You frowned. One step forward and a hundred back, I suppose.

“You need to drink.” You stated, bringing it up to him again before he shook his head and growled.

“Get that shit outta my face, dammit!” He spat, glaring at you.

You slammed the pint of water on the coffee table and grabbed his face, turning it towards you despite his struggling and cursing for you to let go.

“You’re acting like a damn baby!” You hissed at him, “Now, do I need to give you a lesson on basic human biology?”

He stilled for a moment, narrowed eyes rolling over your face warily. You relaxed and slumped, arm falling from him.

“Whether you like it or not, you’re trapped in a human body. And you have to do these things to keep that body alive.” You drawled, gesturing to the water on the coffee table. “That thing you did earlier. With your y’know, is what comes out. But for that to happen, that-“ you pointed to the glass, “Has to go in.”

The Espada snorted and turned his nose up at you.

“I’m no fuckin’ baby, you are.”

You rolled your eyes. What a child.

“Oh yeah? How’s that then?” You hummed, eyeing him in amusement. The Espada sniffed and looked at you briefly before averting his attention once more to nothing in particular.

“Yeah. Thought you were gonna cry when you had to fuckin’ touch my cock earlier.” He suddenly grinned, as if recalling the memory with great amusement.

The blush returned to your cheeks at his words and you scowled at him.

“I thought I told you not to bring that up.” You spat, smacking him in the arm. As if he’d just been hit by a gnat, the Arrancar didn’t budge. In fact, quite unexpectedly, he did the opposite. Turning his whole body to face you, he loomed closer, a predatory look on his face.

“You said not to tell another soul. Well, looks like we’re the only ones here, sweetheart.” He growled and you swallowed thickly at the pet name he’d so absentmindedly called you, feeling an unwelcome heat shoot straight between your legs. You put your hands on his chest and pushed his away slightly, turning your head and closing your eyes.

“That’s enough of that,” You drawled, “Whatever that is. Let’s keep this professional, shall we?” You cleared your throat as the hulking wall of muscle cocked his head down at you, silently appraising the flushed look on your face and inhaling the sweet scent of something new. Something tempting. Something that suddenly had his previously flaccid cock twitching to life, just like it had when your hand had wrapped around a fraction of it earlier and he was met with a strange feeling that he’d never had before. Blood lust he was used to. This, whatever this may be felt somewhat similar. Expect it wasn’t your blood he was craving.

His eyes dropped to the area between your legs which had spread open slightly as you’d leaned backwards on the arm rest of the sofa to distance yourself from him, your loose shorts had hiked up in the process. That is where he needed to be. That is what he was craving. Until now, his human body was acting on instinct, and it seemed that this was another that had quite literally sprung to life. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he stared at that particularly sweet smelling spot. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with it, but he wanted to find out.

You blinked and followed his dark stare, clamping your legs shut when you realised where it was located exactly. Letting out a squeak, you rolled ungracefully off the sofa when the intercom sounded. Grimmjow shook his head and snapped his attention to the box next the front door. You backed away and laughed nervously.

“That’ll be the pizza!” You chimed, face falling as soon as you turned away from him and you practically sprinted over to it, eager for a distraction.

Grimmjow blinked, mind suddenly clearing as he stared down at his lap where a visible tent had protruded against the flimsy material, feeling his cock throbbing angrily, desperate for touch, freedom, anything. He cocked his head. Huh, s’never done that before. His eyes trailed back to you as you opened the door, turning to look at him briefly with a nervous look before shutting it behind you. The Espada huffed a stray lock of turquoise hair out of his face and scowled. The throbbing began to fade when you’d been gone a while a he could think clearly again.

Pushing himself off of the sofa with few grunts, he staggered to the room that he’d not been able to explore just yet and turned to press and elbow down on the handle, forcing it open with a hip. Upon entering, he was overwhelmed by your scent. Until now, it had been everywhere, but here it was the strongest. His eyes roamed around lazily as he studied his surroundings. It was small, but he supposed so were you. And it was a mess. He tutted, clothes were strewn about, your bed, double he noted, was unmade with a few books cluttered over it. As he emerged, he noticed himself in the floor length mirror beside a rail of handing clothes.

He took a moment to look at himself, there were bandages strapped tightly around his shoulder and midsection. Most likely from the last fight he’d had with that bastard Ichigo. And not to mention the skinny prick Nnoitra who had rudely interrupted their battle with his obnoxiously large crescent blade that he had felt bite into the junction between his shoulder and his neck. He rolled his shoulder at the memory, feeling it still somewhat stiff. He supposed he had to thank the girl for healing him up, what was her name? Orizuki? Ori something…

He looked to the tops of the walls, little twinkling lights draped all around the room and he cocked his head, as if to distract from the state the room was in. He was so busy exploring that he hadn’t heard the front door open and shut. Instead, he preoccupied himself with snooping around your room at all of the strange little bits of clutter you had collected.

“What are you doing?” You drawled, arms folded as you leaned against the door, watching the Espada.

He didn’t budge, instead peering down at one of the picture frames on your chest of drawers.

“This place is a fuckin’ mess, ‘the hell do you live in here?” He snorted, squinting when he saw a picture of a woman. “Who the fuck is this?”

You rolled your eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of your bedroom despite his protests.

“Don’t be such a creep.” You muttered to yourself, closing the door behind you and pushing him towards the sofa. “And it’s not exactly like I expect company.” You mused, ignoring his last question purposely in hope he’d drop it.

“Not in that department anyway.” You said under your breath.

“Hah?”

“Nothing, food’s here.” You stated, coming to sit beside him so that you could lift a slice of pizza up to his mouth which he initially went to turn his head away from until he saw the look you gave him, to which he rolled his eyes and begrudgingly opened his mouth. You bit back a smile.

“Good boy.” You chimed, completely missing the way his body shuddered at your praise.

The Espada initially bit down but retracted with a hiss, dropping the food down his front in the process.

“Gah! That’s fuckin’ hot, you bitch!” He wiped his mouth on his shoulder and you pretended to pout.

“Oops.”

The Espada glared at you.

“You did that on purpose.” He hissed. You shrugged.

“That was for making me hold your cock earlier.” Before you brought it to your mouth and blew on it until it cooled down enough for his to eat. He took it in his mouth and chewed warily.

“Oo ac’ ‘ike oo In’un uckin’ enoy’ et’” He tried to say around the slice, only pausing when he’d swallowed to lunge after another mouthful, unsurprisingly ravenous. You snorted.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” You tutted at him, watching with keen interest as he tore off piece after piece before all but devouring the entire slice in your hand.

“I said you act like you didn’t fuckin’ enjoy it.” He sneered at you, to which you ignored and pulled another slice of pizza away, stringy mozzarella cheese holding on to the rest for dear life, as if it could see the starved beast above eyeing it hungrily.

“And what makes you think that?” You drawled, eyes bored as you brought the next slice to his mouth, watching as he ducked his head to bring the limp, cheesy edge into his mouth and tearing at it, practically famished and suddenly discovering his appetite. He swallowed and grinned at you, making you stifle a laugh as he was seemingly unaware of the oregano that had wedged itself in his pointed canine.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe your little heart beats thudding against my back,” He purred, “Or your face bein’ all cute an’ pink.”

You scoffed back a laugh, unconsciously reaching your free hand forward to gently de-wedge the stubborn herb with your finger nail. The Arrancar paused, brows suddenly knitting together at your tender action, completely foreign to him. You caught yourself and cleared your throat, ducking your head to pull yourself a slice.

“If you’re trying to be sexy, maybe try again when you don’t have half a pizza stuck in your teeth.” You hummed, bringing your own slice to your mouth and ripping at it. The Espada stared at you, confused.

“The fuck is a pizzah?” He murmured. You rolled your eyes and waved his slice around in your hand.

“What you’re eating, moron.” You mused, chewing your own. The Arrancar scowled at you, before lunging forward and continuing to feast.

The rest of the meal continued in relative silence until the Espada was left on his back on the sofa, groaning.

“I fuckin’ hate this.” He growled. You paused clearing up the boxes and looked over to him as he stared up at the ceiling, and absent expression on his face.

“That tends to happen when you eat one and a half of them in one go.” You hummed before continuing, scraping the crusts into one box so you could lay them on top on one another to carry over to the bin. The Arrancar scoffed.

“Not that, woman! This.” He groaned. You frowned and turned to look over your shoulder at the sofa, seeing only his hakama covered knees from where you were standing.

“What? Am I such terrible company?” You rolled your eyes and emptied the crusts into the bin, “You could get landed with much worse, trust me. Perhaps your precious Ichigo.” You mocked his previous words but couldn’t help the slightly bite your words held. You paused as you heard the shuffle of him moving into a sitting position to peer over at you.

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?” He muttered, staring at the back of your head. You could feel his eyes on you as you spun.

“Well, judging by your,” You gestured to him with your hand, “Everything, something tells me you don’t like him very much.”

The Arrancar eyed you warily.

“Yeah? Fuckin’ bastard owes me a good fight.” He drawled, “And next time, I’m gonna kill him.”

You rolled your eyes, ripping up the boxes so you could fit them in the recycling.

“Sure. Whatever gets you going.” You murmured. The Espada glared at you, brows furrowing.

“What’s got you all fuckin’ sour?”

“Nothing.” You spat, collecting yourself as soon as you realised how you must have looked. And sounded. “Look, let’s just drop it, I’m getting pretty tired so why don’t we give you a nice bubble bath and then I’ll be able to get some fucking rest.”

The Espada bristled at your words, chest puffing out.

“Ichigo, Ichigo. That’s all everyone ever cares about, ain’t it?” He snarled. “Don’t tell me you’re in love with him too. Just like every other sorry bastard out there.”

You bit your lip, casting your eyes down. Don’t say it. You’ll regret it.

The Espada spat out a cruel laugh.

“Holy fuck.” He growled, “I’m right, aren’t I? You love that fuckin’ red head son of a bitch.”

“Enough.” You shouted, an unwelcome feeling bubbling in your stomach and making your throat squeeze tight. The Arrancar paused, still glaring in your direction before he averted his eyes and huffed an angry sigh out of his nose.

“Let’s not talk about him anymore.” You groaned, hiding your face in your hands. “C’mon. You’re covered in pizza sauce. Let’s get you in the bath.”

“Fuck your bath.” He snapped, eyes still refusing to look at you. You rubbed your hands on your shorts.

“You know what? Fine.” You hissed, storming over to your bedroom. “Stay dirty for all I care. Goodnight.”

You slammed the door and the Espada could do nothing but sit in silence and stew in his own rage at the strawberry blonde bastard and you. That was until his own eyelids felt heavy and he found himself laying down to descend into a begrudging slumber as darkness crept at his peripherals.

Chapter Text

The Espada groaned as he awoke from sleep, eyes squeezing shut again as he battled the bright light of morning that shone down on his face, filtering through the shuttered blinds. Sluggishly, he wormed his way into an upright position and rolled his shoulders, yawning. Not as uncomfortable as the wall but his hands were still numb. He stretched as much as he could before attempting to stand and swaying slightly.

He looked around. It was quiet. Having no concept of time didn’t help. He approached your bedroom and tentatively tried the handle again, pushing it open to find that your bed was made, floors clean. But you were nowhere to be found. Sniffing, he turned of his heel and moved to the counter where he had to double take at the plate that was laid out for him with what he recognised was the delicious salty meat from yesterday morning and a pair of strange looking lumps that stared up him with orange, shining orbs. To the right of the plate was a tall glass, like the one from the previous night except it was filled with what looked like a bizarre yellow liquid. He narrowed his eyes as he stared warily at the tube that poked above it, resting against the side of the glass.

“The fuck?” He mumbled under his breath.

“Oi!” He called out, expecting you to materialise out of nowhere and start yelling at him again. But there was nothing. He stalked over to the torture chamber with the toilet as he remembered it and nudged it open, finding it empty. He paused briefly. Maybe you’d left for good.

His stomach made that strange gurgling sound and his chest tightened. Should that be a bad thing? He wasn’t sure. You’d kept him alive so far, he wasn’t sure what your intentions were but you didn’t seem like you wanted to kill him. Well, apart from last night. You could have been landed with worse. Those were your words. Would someone else come for him? He felt a pang of… disappointment?

Scoffing, he slid around the counter and eyed the plate of crispy meat and strange… eye looking things before diving in face first and unceremoniously devouring it. He cursed inwardly. This was much easier when you were feeding him. Shrugging, he continued until he was practically licking the plate clean. Pausing only to eye the strange liquid in the glass distrustfully. What was that tube you’d put in it? He presumed that was your doing. Tentatively, his mouth closed around it and…

Nothing.

“What’s the fucking point, then?” He growled, slamming his head down on the surface, frustrated.

He couldn’t wait to get away from this hellhole. To go back to… Well, he wasn’t sure exactly. He hardly felt like he’d be welcomed back with open arms. Apart from Killing Kurosaki he wasn’t too sure he had any where to go. Suddenly deflated, he sunk to the floor and laid there, staring at the ceiling whilst lost in his thoughts. Is this how it felt to be human?

You were about to turn the key when you noticed Mrs Tanigawa leaving her apartment and accidentally dropping her Tupperware to the floor with a tut. Ever frail, the woman attempted to bend down to pick it up but stumbled and fell against her door, managing to steady herself with her walking stick before she joined her plastic containers in a heap.

You abandoned your keys and jogged over.

“Here, let me help.” You muttered, crouching to pick up her containers and hooked an arm around her elbow for support. The elderly woman smiled up at you with her dentures.

“You’re so kind, Y/N.” Her face suddenly fell and she looked lightly nervous. “Is everything alright, by the way? I heard… shouting last night. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but things sounded quite serious.”

You blinked at her for a moment before waving her off with a nervous laugh.

“Oh that? It’s nothing,” You paused slightly before continuing with whatever story your mind could make up on the spot. “It was my boyfriend. We had an argument. About the cat.”

The elderly woman, from her hunched over position stared up at you with bewildered eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, my dear.” She hummed in thought, “My apologies, I didn’t mean to pry.”

You shook your head and gave her a confident smile.

“That’s alright, I should be apologizing.” You helped her to the lift, “I didn’t realise we were being so loud, it won’t happen again. Did you need some help to your car?”

The old lady shook her head, pressing the button and giving you a kind smile.

“No, that’s quite alright, dear. I should manage. But, before you go. A word of advice,” You turned back to her with a confused look just as you were about to head back to your apartment, “Don’t let him push you around. I put up with it for fifty years and to be honest,” She looked around before averting her attention back to you with a mirthful grin, “I was so glad when the old coot finally died.”

You gave the old woman a nervous laugh before nodding.

“Aha, I won’t. Thank you.” You murmured, waving to her anxiously as the lift door closed and you exhaled a long held sigh before heading back to your apartment, unlocking the door and raising an eyebrow at the Espada laid out of your floor like a most unwelcome welcome mat.

“We have to stop meeting like this.” You drawled, shutting the door behind you.

The turquoise haired Arrancar barely flinched as you walked around him and stared down at his nonchalant face.

“Why am I here? Tell me the fuckin’ truth.” He spat.

You folded your arms across your chest.

“What? On my floor? I was hoping you could tell me that.” You bit your lip to stop from laughing.

The Espada snorted out a sarcastic laugh.

“Haha, very funny.” He snarled, “I mean why am I here. What could those fuckin’ soul reapers want with me now. I lost the battle with that bastard Ichigo. Cut down by that stick insect freak. What use can I be to anyone?”

You felt a pang in your chest, whether it was sympathy you weren’t sure. But you definitely felt your face fall at his words. He just looked so… lost. Is this what happened when you took an Espada away from the battlefield? You supposed that was their main purpose, after all. What they were made for. You felt a bit sorry for him really. You nudged him with your foot.

“Hey, you’re scaring me,” You said softly, “I’m not used to hearing you talk about anything other than kicking Ichigo’s ass or whatever it is that you liked to fantasize about.”

The Espada regarded you briefly before averting his attention back to the ceiling with a deep exhale.

“It all just seems like I’m waiting around and like, for what?” He hissed, “What could be so important that those Shinigami wanna keep me around, what’s it all fuckin’ for?”

Your death. You wanted to say. But in all honesty, you didn’t want to have that conversation with him. In your own way, you could only dread what that might mean. But, these past few days having him around, whether that’s awake or not, it had been kind of… Nice. You weren’t use to company, but you begrudged even admitting internally that you’d sort of warmed to the Espada. You tutted.

The Espada didn’t move as you crouched and placed yourself beside him, your head just touching his shoulder.

“You know, we all feel a bit like that from time to time. I know I definitely have,” You turned your head to look at the side of his face, only just taking in how handsome he was. It a weird, Arrancar kind of way. He was ethereal, like he shouldn’t be real. You supposed that in some kind of cynical way, he shouldn’t. He was a weapon utilized by a lunatic with a thirst for power and forced to fight in a war he never started. “I think what I’m trying to say is, well- Perhaps it’s being human that’s making you feel this way?”

If you were careful, maybe you could reach a finger out and graze his arm, what would he do? What would he say? Before you could contemplate it further, a deep grumble erupted from his chest and you fluttered your eyes up to look at his face, seeing his brows furrow as he processed your words.

“Yeah, Yeah.” He sniffed and you immediately wondered if Arrancar could cry. The man just broke out into a mirthful smile, “You’re right. The fuck’ am I doing down here anyway?”

You helped him to his knees but not before you accidentally averted your eyes to his own and he cocked his head at you, watching as a stray tear escaped from your cornea and rolled down your cheek. You immediately brought a hand up and wiped it away.

“The fuck was that?” He muttered, more to himself than you.

You stared down at your hand in bewilderment.

“Uh, it’s what humans do when they’re happy.” You fumbled over your words and the Espada’s eyes narrowed, studying you for a moment before he shrugged and attempted to stand himself. You helped him up and smiled up at him, making him take a double take at you.

“What are you looking at me with that stupid look for?” He grumbled and you rolled your eyes before dragging him towards the bathroom.

“Trying to fight the urge to throw up.” You drawled, “Time for your bath, you stink Espada.”

The turquoise haired Arrancar protested, but you shut the door behind you so he couldn’t escape.

You turned your head away as he stepped into the tub.

“You in?”

The Espada rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t fuckin’ pass out. I’m in.” He let out a literal purr when he sank into the warm water, the foam of the bubble bath coming up and tickling his chin, which was beginning to grow a light film of stubble. You turned your head and accidentally let out a laugh, making the Espada snap his glare your way.

“The fuck is your problem?” He growled and you put a hand up to your lips.

“Oh nothing, nothing. It’s just…” You couldn’t stop yourself, laughter ripped to the surface of your throat and you snorted before you could help it. “You just need a rubber ducky and-Oh gods.”

Your face fell when a wave of water hit your face, soaking your entire front. You narrowed your eyes as you scowled at the Espada who smirked in response, water rocking him from side to side after his particularly powerful thrash.

“Bastard.”

“Bitch.”

“Touché.” You murmured before grabbing a clean loofah and lathering it up with the manliest smelling soap you could find, staring at him silently from permission. The Espada watched you carefully lower it to his chest and begin dragging it in a circular motion.

“So… What is it you Espada typically do in your spare time?” You mused, attempting to make small talk. The Arrancar raised a brow at you.

“The fuck you mean by spare time?” He grumbled, trying to ignore the feeling of the loofah dipping beneath the water. “Hey- watch it!” He growled as you very quickly and roughly scrubbed at his nether regions before resurfacing and reaching behind you to grab the jug you’d rooted around in your cupboards for.

“Sorry,” You cleared your throat. “Spare time? Free time? When you’re not butchering each other kinda time?”

The Espada snorted.

“Oh we’re always butcherin’ each other.” He smirked and you shuddered.

“Okay, Well, if you say, I dunno, had to do anything else? What would you do?” You attempted to bring his attention back to something that might not lead his thought process to murdering you the next chance he got. He shrugged.

“How the fuck am I meant to know? S’all we do.” He thought for a moment as you filled the jug and tipped his head back. “What do you do? Besides bein’ a nosy bitch?” He snorted before choking slightly on the water as you accidentally poured it all over his face with a whoops. He shook his head and scowled at you once the burning in his nostrils subsided.

You hummed, squirting shampoo in your hand before leaning over the side of the tub to lather it in his turquoise locks and massage it into his scalp.

“Hmm, I like to read. And cheer.” You absentmindedly mused. The Espada purred again at the feeling of your fingers tentatively massaging his scalp.

“The fuck is a cheer?”

You snorted.

“It’s a bit like dancing, I suppose. But more gymnastics.” You realised that you’d have to explain things a bit better when he gave you a questioning look. “Um, like back flips and stuff. Being flexible.”

He quirked a brow at you.

“Flexible?”

You nodded and hummed in response, using the jug to rinse his hair as you tipped his head back, careful not to drown him in the process this time. He squeezed his eyes shut as you ran your fingers through his hair, washing any shampoo suds out in the process.

“Yeah, how can I explain this?”

“I know what fuckin’ flexible means.” He rolled his eyes before looking you up and down, “Just didn’t see you as the type is all.” He drawled, head bobbing above the water. You quirked a brow at him.

“Well, you’ve not seen me be flexible.” You realised what you’d said before you could take it back and you narrowed your eyes at him while he gave you a feral grin. “Don’t be gross.”

“What? I didn’t fuckin’ say anything.” He murmured, genuinely confused at what you meant. You paused what you were doing and gave him a look.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. What?” He growled. You cocked your head at him.

“Grimmjow?” He shuddered as you said his name. He realised he liked it when you said his name. “Have you ever..?”

He blinked up at you, waiting for you to finish but became confused when you gestured down to the bath water with your eyes.

“What? Have I ever what? Spit it out, woman or I’ll-“

You pursed your lips as a blush heated your cheeks again.

“Don’t worry about it.” You muttered under your breath, using the loofah to wash his legs and arms. The Espada let out a tch.

“I ain’t fuckin’ worried.” He spat, “I wanna know what you were gonna fuckin’ say.”

You averted your bashful stare back up to his face and took a deep breath. He really wasn’t going to let it go, was he? You groaned inwardly at what you were about to say.

“Have you ever… Had sex?”

There was a silence as he processed your words. That would be a no.

“What the hell d’you mean by that? I’m the Sexta Espada,” You tutted and tried to fight back the urge to coo at him patronizingly. The Arrancar growled at your response. Thrashing in the tub like a petulant child.

“Well, you gonna fuckin’ tell me then?” He bit, unamused by the pitiful look you were giving him. You shook your head and laughed.

“I’m not gonna tell you.” You chuckled, threading the loofah underneath him, making him jump and let out a fuck! “I believe you can do the back.” You pushed it beneath him and watched as he grabbed hold of it with his bound hands, sending a scowl your way before grunting and wriggling about, which you supposed meant that he was following orders.

“Done.” He spat as the loofah made an unwelcome appearance to the surface and you plucked it out with a quiet ew under your breath and tossed it to the open laundry basket. You hummed and reached in to pull the plug.

“Great, now get out.” You drawled, hooking an arm under his own to help him push himself up the porcelain tub enough to get his balance and stand. You averted your eyes, flustered as you reached for the towel which you’d kept warm on the radiator.

“It won’t bite, y’know.” The Espada rolled his eyes as you helped him to step out into the towel and you wrapped it around him, unintentionally hugging yourself to him in the process. There was a heavy tension as he stared down at you and you fluttered your own gaze back up at him. Unconsciously, he stepped forward, so much that your back hit the sink and you reached behind yourself to hold it. The Espada stared down at you, his chest rising up and down slowly and you struggled to find the words to say, if you needed any at all. Slowly, he felt those weak human instincts guiding him again, no. Pulling him. Downwards, toward your lips, his eyes flickered to them briefly and you rested a hand on his chest.

Knock knock.

You both released a steady breath as the tension sudden broke with the sound of the knocking on the front door. You gave Grimmjow a shy smile and patted his chest lightly before leaving him standing there to think about what had just happened.

“Hang on a minute!” You shouted, peering through the peephole.

“Shit.” You seethed, unlatching the door and opening it.

“Yo.” Drawled the Lieutenant of the sixth division. Shuuhei stood behind him with his arms folded over his chest, both in their respective gigai. “Hey, look at that! You’re still alive. Ichigo was worried.” He sniggered before pausing and staring down at your cheer uniform absolutely drenched.

“Woah, hey, what happened?” He hissed under his breath.

You fumbled over your words slightly and looked over your shoulder when you heard movement in the bathroom.

“um, now’s not a great time-“

“Ha!” The bathroom burst open and there, in all of his glory, was the Sexta Espada in just a towel.

Chapter Text

You smacked a hand against your forehead as the Lieutenants stifled their laughter.

“So, you decided to show yourselves at last, you fuckin’ cowards.” The Espada snarled, charging toward the door with full intent of… what, you had no clue. His hands were still bound, he was in nothing but a towel. He had to be the least threatening looking Espada in existence. You frowned and sighed, sad it had to come to this.

“Bakudo: Chitose no kysoku!” You hissed, as he all but ran into your open palms. You had no choice, there was no way you could have calmed him down. He was like feral dog spotting a squirrel. The Espada paused briefly before his eyes rolled into the back of his skull and he toppled, sliding down your body and to a heap at your feet. “For fuck sake.” You muttered under your breath, before stomping around him and pulling him away from the door so that the other two could step in after giving each other a reluctant look.

“Get in and shut the door before someone sees you.” You growled as you attempted to keep the Espada’s towel in situ and preserve at least some of his dignity.

You looked to your watch and then back to Grimmjow, who you’d managed to drag to your bedroom, with the help of the very kind Lieutenants who a hand in your misery to begin with. You’d managed to find some old over sized clothes sweatpants and a hoodie that had belonged to an ex. They were a bit tight and didn’t really match but they were clean. Afterwards, you tied him to the radiator where he’d spent his first night in your apartment and waited for his to come to his senses. You turned to the two soul reapers which a scowl.

“What the hell were you thinking? Coming here unannounced like that, he was calm before you two showed up.” You spat. The Lieutenants sipped their tea and gave each other a look before Renji snorted behind his tea cup. You folded your arms over the top of your changed blouse, one that hadn’t been assaulted by half a bath tub of water and a cocky Arrancar.

“Yeah, we’re sure you got him real calm.” The red headed soul reaper sniggered. The other choking on his tea, a blush tinting his cheeks. You rolled your eyes.

“Grow the fuck up.” You snarled. You turned your head when you heard the Arrancar behind you stir.

“So, you seem to be getting along.” Shuuhei muttered, narrowed eyes averted to avoid your gaze. The other Lieutenant gave him a warning stare. The ninth division Lieutenant placed his cup on the saucer and rested his chin on his hand, staring at you with an unseen forlorn look as you stared behind you at the sleeping Arrancar.

“I wouldn’t go that far. I tolerate him at best.” You chuckled under your breath slightly, “He’s lively, that’s for sure.”

“Y/N.”

You turned when Lieutenant Abarai spoke and your face fell instantly. Dread crawled up your spine a the look he gave you, you sighed.

“He’s not mentioned anything yet.” You murmured, sipping your tea as your eyes stared down in your lap.

“You know it would be best not to get too attached.” Shuuhei spoke softly, eyes also downcast, hissing when the other soul reaper elbowed him in the ribs.

“What Lieutenant Hisagi means to say,” The lieutenant cleared his throat before giving you a stern look, “Is that you know what’s going to happen to him when this is all over.”

You sent him a warning look as you slammed your tea cup down on its saucer, nearly shattering it in the process.

“How could I forget?” You hissed, “Don’t talk about that here. He may be asleep but I can’t guarantee that he’s not listening.” You sent him a sorry look over your shoulder. “Besides, I don’t want him to know.”

Renji leaned forward with narrowed eyes.

“You’ve not told him?” He sneered, “Why?”

You rolled your eyes and rested your chin on your arm as you watched the Espada let out a soft snore.

“That’s not exactly my place, is it?” It’s not me who wants him dead. You wanted to say, but apparently your words had said enough. Renji stood with a frown.

“He’s killed people, Y/N! He tried to kill Ichigo.” He snarled, fists clenching. “Is that not enough?”

You slapped his hand away when he reached over to you. You stood, scowling up at him. The Lieutenant sighed and put his hands up.

“Look, I know you two don’t get along.” He pleaded, “But see sense. The guy’s a killer. Give him one chance. Just one, and he’ll strangle you in your sleep.”

You shoved him away from you and walked around the sofa to stare down at the Espada with arms crossed. You cocked your head to the side.

“I think you should leave.” You muttered. Behind you, Lieutenant Abarai shook his head and Lieutenant Hisagi placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder before sending another look your way that would speak a thousand words if you only looked at him enough to see it.

“I’ll speak to Urahara. See if we can move him somewhere else.” The red haired soul reaper said softly, “It’s for your own good, Y/N.”

And then, they left, giving you one last sorry look as you stared down at the sleeping Espada with hidden tears rolling down your cheeks.

Grimmjow groaned, head flopping to the side as he awoke, blinking back sleep which felt gritty in his eyes just like the sand of a Las Noches night time breeze.

“Fuck…” He grumbled, digging the heel of his palm into his eye socket and pushing himself to his knees with his other hand. He stood, leaning against the wall as he stretched his arms over his head and yawned. What time is it? It was dark, his eyes grew accustomed to the dark as he looked around and remembered where he was. Oh. Right.

He paused.

Tentatively, he stretched his arms out in front of himself and looked at his hands, wriggling his long, thick fingers before him so he could take it in. Slowly, a predatory grin stretched across his face. Excellent. First, find you. Next find Ichigo. His mind ran a million miles a minute at all of the ways he would kill him before your eyes. He took a step before his eyes darted to the sofa.

“So, you’re free.” You slurred through the darkness, “What do you plan on doing with your new found freedom?” Your head leaned back as you took a swig from the bottle, letting out a sigh once your gulped the bitter liquid down.

The Espada’s fists curled into a clench as he watched you.

“The fuck are you doing lurkin’ around in the dark for?” He spat humorously. You shrugged and took another swig.

“What’s it look like? I’m celebrating our collective freedom.” You sneered. “You get to be free of me, and I get to be free of you. That’s how it works, right?”

Grimmjow blinked, teal eyes glowing in the darkness as he remembered what had happened before he passed out.

“Those damn Shinigami, where are they?” He snarled. You were quiet as you thought for a moment. Growling, he stalked up to you and grabbed you by the back of your sweatshirt, lifting you and causing you to drop your bottle with a yelp, the amber contents spilling over the sofa cushion with slow glugs.

He stood you upright on the sofa and turned you to him, snarl falling as he took in the tears that streamed down your cheeks and dropped to the fabric of your sweatshirt in soft patters. He stared at you in bewilderment and you wiped your nose on your sleeve.

“You that happy to be getting rid of me?”

You sniffled and gave him a confused look.

“What?” You hiccupped.

He rolled his eyes.

“Before. You said humans did that gross thing when they’re fuckin’ happy or whatever.” He growled. You thought for a moment before letting out a soft laugh.

“Oh yeah. I did say that, didn’t I.” You mused to yourself, swaying slightly from half a bottle of whiskey you’d been nursing for hours as you sat with nothing but your thoughts. The Espada caught you as you stumbled close to the edge.

“Hey, the fuck’s wrong with you? Snap the fuck outta it.” He hissed behind a bared snarled, dragging you into his arms and standing you on the floor. You were so light, like a breeze could come along and sweep you away. You stared up at him and tentatively reached a small hand up to cup his jaw.

“You have beautiful eyes, did I ever tell you that?” You whispered under your breath, but loud enough for him to hear it. The Espada’s chest heaved as he felt that pull beginning to take him to you again. Fuck, now’s not the time. He scolded himself. He needed answers, and quick. He lowered you so that your back was on the floor so he could be certain you wouldn’t fall again but before he could stand back up, his eyes halted on your lips.

Your teeth caught your lower one and he didn’t realise before just how plump they were. Hesitantly he knelt between your legs and spread them with his own so that he could kneel closer, breathing becoming laboured as it seemed to sync with your own. Carefully and unconsciously, he pushed a palm up to interlace with your own, his heart speeding up suddenly and thumping against his chest. With heavy lids, he leaned down and brushed his nose against your own.

You gasped, and his nostrils wrinkled, your breath was bitter sweet. He leaned back slightly to stare down at you. You smiled softly up at him.

“I thought you wanted to kill me?” You hummed, cocking your head to one side.

The Espada hesitated before bringing his other hand to your throat, curling his whole palm around it and squeezing, causing your breath to hitch in a raspy inhale. His eyes glowed down at you. It would be so easy. To break your neck beneath his hand. To close your windpipe and your eyes forever.

“I do.” He rasped out.

You smiled, closing your eyes. I’m coming, mamma.

The hand at your throat slithered away and your eyes shot open, staring up at the ceiling, where the Espada met your gaze a second ago. And then you heard the door open and close softly. You shot up onto your elbows.

Shit.

Chapter Text

"What were you thinking.” Ichigo snarled, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you frantically, “He could have killed you.”

You pushed his hands off and avoided his gaze, still seeing double. But all of this yelling had sobered you up somewhat.

“I told you, I was drunk. I wasn’t thinking clearly.” You drawled. Ichigo turned and scoffed.

“Why were you drinking in the first place? You’re underage.” He spat.

“Hey!” You spat and shoved him, “I’m not gonna be lectured about drinking by a fifteen year old!”

“Oh yeah, so why don’t you go and unleash a murderous lunatic onto the streets of Karakura, oh wait,” He snapped, “You already did that!”

You clenched your fist, tempted so swing for him until Yoruichi pushed in between you both, scowling at the two of you.

“Hey, cut it out!” She hissed, “Ichigo, sit your ass down. Y/N, make yourself a damn coffee and sober up!”

You mumbled under your breath before you turned and attempted to walk straight towards your kettle. Your cheeks burned under the realisation of what you’d done. You could feel all eyes on you as moved. In particular, Lieutenant Abarai’s heated stare at the back of your head. You slammed your coffee mug down on the counter as whipped your head in his direction.

“Go on, say it.” You spat, “I know you’re dying to.”

Renji’s arms were folded over his chest as he wore his Shinigami robes, out of his Gigai. Along with the rest of the squad members and Lieutenants and one Captain of the soul society. All gathered to condemn you for your actions and irresponsibility. You weren’t sorry. You couldn’t be. You refused to stand by and watch someone be condemned to death for fighting someone else’s war.

“You like him.”

Your eyes widened as your breath caught in your throat. The soul reapers looked to Lieutenant Hisagi who sat beside Captain Hitsugaya. He flushed and averted his gaze to the floor. You turned, placing your arms on the counter as your stare bore into him, leaning yourself against the surface and cocking your head to the side.

“And what makes you think that?” You sniffed, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

“We’re all thinking it, Y/N.” Lieutenant Abarai spoke sternly, “And you sure do look a fool if that’s the case.”

You scoffed and turned to pour hot water in your mug and stir the coffee granules, trying to ignore the thumping of your heart against your chest and the burning of your cheeks.

“That's ridiculous.” You hissed with venom.

“Is it?” Renji said sarcastically.

“Yes.” You snarled, slamming your hands on the counter top. “Is it so unbelievable that I don’t agree condemning a man to death just for being forced to fight in a war he never asked for?”

“He’s not a man. He’s an Espada. He is chaos incarnate.” Ichigo spat, watching as your shoulders tensed. “One that you’ve just unleashed to the streets of Karakura town. Our home town.”

He took a step forward.

“What about me, Y/N?” He said, his voice breaking.

You pursed your lips, attempting to fight back tears.

“You can handle yourself, you proved that before when your nearly killed him.”

“What about dad? Karin? Yuzu.”

You exhaled shakily as your shoulders slumped.

“What do you want from me?” Your voice cracked as tears fell, “Do you want me to be like this? Do you want to see me cry? Tell you it was a stupid idea and I w-was so fucked up for doing it? F-fine.” You turned and glared at your brother through bleary eyes, watching as his face softened.

“Hey, shh.”

It was Hisagi who took you into his arms, hushing you and placing a hand on your head as you sobbed into his chest, frowning as your shoulders shook.

Ichigo groaned and leaned against your sofa.

“I thought h-he would kill me.”

“And he didn’t.”

All eyes fell on Urahara who fanned himself with a strangely inappropriate smile beneath his hat.

“S-sorry?” You hiccupped, raising your head from Lieutenant Hisagi’s chest. The older man sent you a comforting smile.

“He didn’t kill you.” He shrugged. “He could have, but he didn’t. I wonder why?”

You wiped your face on your sleeve and took a seat on the bar stool beneath the kitchen island, taking a slow, tentative sip of your coffee. You took a deep breath, calming yourself.

“Um, I have no idea.” You muttered under your breath, “Because he owes me for holding his dick so he could take a leak? I don’t know.”

Ichigo’s head snapped in your direction.

“He what.” He snapped, eyes widening as he guffawed at you.

You shrugged.

“You give me an Espada in a gigai with his hands bound. I had to make do.” You drawled, taking another sip of your coffee.

“You little minx.” Rangiku purred, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “You’ll have to tell me everything later.”

You sent a sarcastic smile in her direction as you felt the coffee doing the trick.

“I also gave him a bubble bath.” You hummed, making Ichigo groan and cover his face in his hands.

“Stop talking.” He murmured, ears pink.

Yumichika was suddenly interested in the conversation topic as he kneeled on the sofa, kicking his legs back enthusiastically.

“Interesting,” He purred, “You might just be the only person in the world who’s seen an Espada-“

“I’m going to throw up if this carries on.” Ichigo groaned.

Urahara cleared his throat and stifled a laugh behind his fan.

“And despite all that lucrative information, our wayward Espada still let you live.” He hummed, “I wonder why that could be.” He pouted, as if deep in thought.

You narrowed your eyes at him.

“What are you getting at?”

The man snapped his fan shut and leaned against the door.

“What I’m getting at is that I believe our dear Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez had befallen an age old curse that all human men are prone to.” He chuckled, “The wiles of women.”

You blinked owlishly at him before snorting out a laugh of disbelief, holding onto the kitchen island for stability.

“You think, the Espada is in love with me?” You sniggered, “That’s ridiculous.”

Chatter broke amongst the room and Urahara shook his head.

“Love? No. I don’t think that’s in Grimmjow’s vocabulary. Attracted to, yes.” He hummed. You scoffed and flipped your hair over your shoulder.

“Unlikely.” You rolled your eyes.

“How so?” He cocked his head, “You’re a good looking young lady, wouldn’t you say, Lieutenant Hisagi?”

The Lieutenant in question fought a blush that heated his cheeks, especially when your bored eyes landed on him and he scratched his neck.

“Uh…”

“That settles it then!” Urahara laughed, “What’s so hard to believe? An attractive woman at his constant beck and call-“

“Not constant. I do have a life, Urahara.” You scowled, sipping your coffee.

“Be that as it may, the only company he’s given whilst negotiating all of these confusing human emotions and developments. You’re looking after him, taking care of him, talking to him. Being close to him.”

You spluttered.

“I don’t know if I like what you’re insinuating.” You glowered at him. He shrugged.

“It’s really not that hard to understand. I’m sure any of us would feel the same.” He began fanning himself again when Ichigo’s face fell.

“I can think of better.” He muttered and you narrowed your eyes at him.

“I’ll have you know I’m a damn delight.” You spat before smirking, “Apparently Grimmjow thinks so.”

Behind your jokes, your heart pounded against your chest frantically. Maybe there was some truth to what Urahara was saying. There were a few moments you’d shared with the Espada that could have led to… Something? And he'd let you live hadn't he? Despite being built for killing, he'd left without doing you any harm. But if what Urahara was saying was true, you couldn’t really say it was genuine from Grimmjow’s part. He was vulnerable. All of these feelings and emotions from being a brand new human being swirling around like an internal tornado. It made you feel even worse about unleashing him. He must be out there, lost, confused. You sighed and finished the rest of your coffee, slamming it down on the counter.

“I’ll find him.” You muttered, jumping off the stool and heading over to the door to slip your converse on.

“I somehow don't think that’s a good idea.” Yoruichi stated. The bald headed Shinigami next to Yumichika shrugged.

“What’s the worse case scenario? He kills her, she screams and alerts everyone to his whereabouts. We re-capture him,” He sniffs, “Life goes on.”

You snorted.

“Exactly. He’s got the right idea.” You drawled, “I’m slightly concerned. But I agree nonetheless.”

Lieutenant Matsumoto giggled behind her hand.

“Oh, something tells me that killing Y/N would be the last thing on his mind.” She purred.

“N-no, I’ll go with you!” You turned when Lieutenant Hisagi stumbled forward, face beet red. You blinked at him obtusely.

“Uh, I’m not sure that’s the best idea. You saw how he reacted earlier when you turned up at the door and his hands were bound.”

Lieutenant Abarai sighed and nodded.

“I hate to say it, but she’s right.” He hummed.

Ichigo stared incredulously at the turn the conversation had taken.

“You can’t be serious.” He scoffed, “You’re not going, Y/N. I’ll go.”

You gave Ichigo a dry laugh.

“You he will kill. Ta ta!” You chimed before grabbing your jacket and phone, just in case you told yourself and leaving, with a click of the door.

You shuddered in the cold and walked down the street.

“Grimmjow!” You called out, cupping your hand over your mouth, turning your head when you heard a sound. You looked up to see Rangiku pressing herself against your apartment window and waving. You rolled your eyes but not before your eyes flickered to the left and you saw Mrs Tanigawa smoking a cigarette on her balcony and giving you a worried wave. You nervously laughed and waved back.

“The cat got out!” You called out, turning and hiding your face beath your hand and calling his name again as you walked down the street.

You cursed when you came to the high street and there hadn’t been so much as a glimpse of him.

You shivered as your breath came out in a mist as you looked up and down the bustling high street. It was late, but apparently not late enough for bar crawlers and clubbers alike to be out still. You became worried when you still couldn’t see any sign of him. Had he been hurt? No, he could probably still kill someone in in gigai. Maybe he’d been found by one of the other Arrancar that Urahara had warned you about.

You were broken violently from your thoughts when a brawl broke out on the street to your left and you heard manic laughter amidst all of the yelling and shouting. You rolled your eyes. There he is.

Calmly, you strolled over to the biker bar that had attracted a crowd.

“I’ll kick yer’ fuckin’ ass right now,” You heard him slur, “I’m the fuckin’ Sexta Espada! What the fuck does that mean anyways?”

You groaned when you spotted him, fists up in front of his face as he punched the air like some kind of pro boxer. A group of burly biker men rolled their fists up and you jumped in front of him just in time it seemed. The Espada squinted at you as he was no doubt seeing double. His breath reeked of beer. He suddenly gave you a toothy grin.

“Hey, you’re pretty cute.” He hiccupped, “How about I take you back to my place. Or… someone’s place. I don’t fuckin’ know.” He groaned and held his head.

You rolled your eyes.

“You know me, you idiot.” You hissed before turning to the three men who folded their arms at you. You laughed nervously and waved in front of you.

“Nothing to see here, fight’s over.” You called to the crowd that complained noisily before beginning to disperse. Looks like you’d ruined Tuesday night’s entertainment. You groaned when you heard the Sexta Espada bend over behind you and retch, the telltale sound of vomit splattering against the sidewalk had you gagging. The men in front of you looked to each other and grinned.

“Who said it’s over, little girl?” The one in front with the missing tooth and beard sneered.

“Your boyfriend seems to think he’s hot shit. Let him prove it, huh?” Another with a bandana and a tattooed throat snickered, rolling his shoulders. You turned and frowned.

“I’ll prove it right now if you don’t back off.” You snapped, making them look at each other and laugh. You folded your arms across your chest as one of them brandished a knife.

“We don’t fight little girls.” The other snarled.

“Me neither, so scamper.” You sneered, narrowing your eyes. The tone suddenly changed as the bearded wall of muscle in front smirked at his friends.

“He was right, you are cute.” He grinned down at you, “How about you come into the bar and we’ll buy you a drink instead.”

A groan sounded behind you and the Espada fell, hitting his head on the concrete with a crack.

Shit. You cursed inwardly. You turned and it was clear that neither of you weren’t getting out of here without some kind of fight.

You exhaled slowly, fucking Espada.

You lunged at the one in front, crouching and swiping your leg out, causing him to yell out and fall onto his side, smacking his head and effectively knocking him out in the process.

The one with the bandana stared at his friend and glowered up at you.

“Fuckin’ bitch!” He lunged at you and you caught his arm, twisting it and swinging your first into his nose. You cringed when you heard a snap and blood streamed out of his nostrils like a river. The crowd seemed to gather again as people began shouting, fight! Fight! Fight!

The last looked at you warily before growling and coming at you with the knife, slicing through the air. You fell into the splits, grinding your teeth in pain as you turned and grabbed his ankle, sending him tumbling to the ground and sent the knife clattering towards you. With a rush of adrenaline, you swiped it and impaled his foot with it, making his cry out in pain, curling up to cradle his foot.

“You bitch!” He cried, sobbing as he held his foot. “You fuckin’ bitch!”

Whilst they were down, you scrambled to your feet and sprinted to Grimmjow who had managed to lift his head sluggishly and watch the end of the fight.

“Hey, you’re pretty good.” He slurred and you hurried him to his feet.

“C’mon we gotta go.” You urged quickly, looking over your shoulder as the first one sat up, holding his head and groaning.

You hooked an arm under his armpit and tugged him to his feet. He pulled himself away and pointed a finger in your face.

“Hey! Don’t fuckin’ drag me around like that.” He spat, quite literally as spittle landed on your face. You fought back your disgust and pulled him.

“Grimmjow, listen, I need you to come with me.” You said sweetly to him but with a sense of urgency as police sirens began to whir down the street and were heading your way, “C’mon, you remember me, don’t you?”

You yelped when he grabbed your face and stared into your eyes.

“Y/N.” He rasped surprisingly tenderly and your heart skipped a beat at the fact that he actually knew your name.

“Yes! That’s right, now come on, we’re going home.” You said, placing a hand over his own on your face, tugging it and pulling it into your own so that he’d follow you across the road. You waved in apology as car skidded to a halt and slammed their horns at you.

You looked back over your shoulder to the someone from the crowd pointing in your direction, no doubt to a police officer and you pulled Grimmjow along faster, but careful not to cause him to trip.

You panted when somehow you managed to get away and back to your apartment. You pushed the Espada against the wall outside of your apartment so that you could open up the door before you were met with a chorus of cheers which soon quietened down when you shushed them and pulled Grimmjow through the door and shut it behind you with a sigh.

“What the hell happened to you?” Ichigo hissed when he looked down at your knees and you looked down to see what he was talking about and cursed when you saw the blood. In fact, it was everywhere. You knees, your hands your face you realised when you rubbed your cheek.

“It’s not mine.” You drawled, and turned your attention to Grimmjow who groaned on the floor, forehead split open from hitting his head on the concrete. You hissed and tugged his heavy body to the sofa, pressing him against it so that you could assess the damage.

“Well, what did I say?” Renji snickered, “Told ya’ she’d kill him before the week was through.”

You scowled up at him before jogging to the kitchen to grab your first aid kit out of the cabinet.

“It wasn’t me.” You hissed, “Stupid idiot must have got drunk somehow. Started a fight.”

You wet a cotton pad and brought the kit over to him, kneeling beside him and dabbing his head, hushing him softly as he groaned in pain. Yoruichi crossed her arms.

“Sounds like you’re both as bad as each other.” She snorted.

Lieutenant Hisagi saw you fussing over the Espada and swallowed thickly, hanging his head and sighing. Lieutenant Abarai placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a sorry look.

“Oh my, what happened to the other guys?” Yumichika sneered, watching you tentatively dab at the Espada’s head.

“I finished it.” You drawled, grabbing the Espada’s cheek and looking in his eyes for any signs of a concussion. Ikkaku sniggered.  

“Atta girl.”

You gave him a sarcastic look before tapping Grimmjow’s face lightly.

“Grimmjow, can you see me?”

Your face heated when he brought a hand up to cup your cheek gently.

“I fuckin’ see ya, woman.” He slurred.

You averted your eyes awkwardly but regretted doing so as you saw Urahara smiling knowingly behind his fan. Ichigo frowned and before he could say anything, you held a finger out hushing him. The last thing you needed was the Espada starting another drunken brawl.

“You came back.” He hiccupped, trying to focus his hazy turquoise eyes on you. You stifled a laugh as you stared down at him and found a dressing in the kit, pinching his skin together and pressing it over the top.

“You’re the one that left, idiot.” You said softly with a light hearted chuckle. He grinned, letting his head roll back against the sofas cushion.

“Oh yeah.” He murmured.

“Alright, everyone. Nothing to see here,” Urahara whispered, opening the door and ushering everyone out. “Lets leave these two in peace.”

When everyone had left he turned to give you a wink, which you rolled your eyes at and managed to convince Grimmjow to crawl onto the sofa where he collapsed instantly and began snoring. You smiled softly and stood, covering him with a blanket.

Once in your own room, you let out a deep exhale and tried to still your rapidly beating heart. You turned to head to bed but not before looking at the picture frame on your dresser.

“Don’t look at me like that.” You smiled at the picture of your mother smiling fondly at the camera.

And then, you crawled into bed, falling into your own peaceful sleep.

Chapter Text

“So, when am I gonna meet this mystery man that had you up all night?”

You gave Mizuho a dry look, trying desperately to keep down the granola bar that you forced yourself to swallow only for your stomach to churn in a way that had you uneasy. The last thing you needed was to draw a crowd as you threw up your reluctant breakfast all over the campus grounds. The brunette only shrugged and rifled through her satchel for her calculus textbook.

“Not sure. How about never?” You drawled, swallowing thickly as you finished the plastic wrapped breakfast bar which felt like sandpaper scraping down your throat. Not the most luxurious meal, but it was about the only thing that didn’t have you feeling positively nauseous after last night’s alcohol induced escapades. You’d gagged when you prepared the Espada his breakfast before you’d left in a hurry to get to your first class, after snoozing the alarm on your bedside table one too many times, that is. You’d felt guilty for leaving him passed out unceremoniously on the sofa, knowing full well he would be feeling even more delicate than you after his first ever indulgence in one too many beverages.

“What? You can’t keep him a secret forever, you know.” Mizuho huffed, pulling the heavy text book out of her leather satchel and opening it on her lap, likely making the most of free period to study. Evidently not enough to keep her distracted from the mystery man that you’d let slip about after suffering her incessant interrogating after turning up that morning to campus looking like death itself and complaining of a pounding headache. Indulging her had kept her from chewing your head off, something you had been in no fit state for at the time. But it seemed that after first period, she was more determined than ever to extract as much juicy information from you.

Her questions came to an abrupt end when she let out a noise of frustration.

“That fucking dingus.” She growled, searching her bag desperately and clearly not finding what she was looking for, “Keigo’s been taking my stuff again. I swear, when I get home he is so dead!”

You just hummed absentmindedly and stared out at the track team, hoping more than anything that someone would trip over and give you a bit of morning entertainment at least.

“Why don’t you just move out?” You asked, “Best thing I ever did. Means I don’t have to put up with Ichigo’s stupid face every day.”

Mizuho shrugged.

“It’s cheaper staying at home. But I’m leaving as soon as I can after graduation.” She relented with a defeated huff and slapped her satchel down beside her before turning her frown to you. “You have a pen I can borrow?”

You nodded and handed her your bag, averting your attention to her only to find her smirking back at you.

“He’s staring at you again.” She sniggered and your brows furrowed as you followed her gesture out to the track field.

“Who? Ryota?” You muttered, said boy noticing your looking his way and turning back towards the tracks somewhat casually while rolling his shoulders out in a overhead stretch. Ryota Eto; Captain of the track team and football team. Tall, fair haired and undoubtedly attractive to anyone with working eyes. He’d gotten a place at College under recommendation, but it helped that his family were really, really stinking rich. There were rumours his mom had been a lingerie model back in the eighties, his dad was the vice president of the Karakura town council. His little sister had been in the local newspaper for being a certified genius. The guy was intimidatingly successful. And that’s why you always brushed off Mizuho’s little comments and baseless observations that he apparently took every chance to sneak looks your way.

When coach blew the whistle, the track team bolted and Ryota was, of course, coming in first with impressive form. You rolled your eyes and looked back to your friend who stayed silent with an ever present grin.

“Maybe your mystery man has competition?” She laughed and you groaned, leaning back on your hands but couldn’t help but look back to the track to find that Ryota Eto, the ever impressive track team Captain had indeed come first with little competition. And as he stood there huffing and panting with sweat glistening in beads over his forehead, lifting his shirt to use it to wipe away at his face, his eyes once again found yours and you quickly stood, relieved to hear the bell declaring that free period had ended.

“Whatever, keep the pen. I’m heading to class.” You grumbled, slinging your bag over your shoulder and trying your best to brush off her sniggers. Your face felt hot and as much as you were eager to blame the stomach twisting hangover, you shivered when your felt the track team captain’s eyes following your retreating form. This is honestly the last thing I need. You thought as you made your way along the bleachers and down towards the main campus, vowing to stop by the vending machine for a soda in hopes that it would cure you of your insistent cotton mouth.

You looked over your shoulder when you heard the rubber soles of trainers thudding against the concrete only to be met by the approaching form of none other than Ryota himself, jogging to catch you up as he waved his hand at you before bending double to catch his breath.

“Hey, one sec. Can we talk?” He panted out, sweat still shimmering over his forehead from his triumphant victory against the rest of his team. You blinked, fumbling slightly with the plastic charms on your bag.

“Uh, yeah sure. Ryota, right?” You said hesitantly, eyeing him with caution. He straightened when he’d finally caught his breath but his chest still heaved beneath his shirt as he offered you a smile.

“Yeah, and you’re Y/N Kurosaki. From the cheerleading team?”

Your mouth opened and closed before you settled on a reluctant nod.

“That’s great. Well- I was wondering,” He cleared his throat as he fumbled his words before releasing a nervous laugh, “Sorry, it’s just, homecoming’s coming up and I was just wondering if you might wanna… That is, if you might wanna uh, go with me?”

You stared, eyes round in disbelief. You looked around and over his shoulder to find the rest of the track team were not in fact laying in wait to laugh and point at you when he announced that he was in fact, just joking. Oh no.

“Uh…” You found yourself speechless as the boy in front of you waited with bated breath for your answer, nimble fingers twisting his shirt in anticipation.

Say yes.

For some reason, this was… Difficult. On one hand, you would be an idiot to refuse the sinfully gorgeous Ryota Eto. On the other hand, a voice entered your mind. And it came in the form of a very aggressive and foul tempered Sexta Espada who was currently residing in your apartment, likely swearing at the TV or punching holes through at least one of your doors.

I’ll kick yer’ fuckin’ ass right now, I’m the fuckin’ Sexta Espada! Whatever the fuck does that mean anyways?

Your heart sank. Yeah, maybe the prospect of accepting Ryota’s offer and going to homecoming like a normal young, carefree eighteen year old wasn’t the best idea.

“Sorry, I don’t think I can make homecoming. You should,” You swallowed down your pride, “You should ask someone else.”

Ryota’s face fell as he let out a quiet oh before averting his eyes to the ground. God, he looked so sad.

“Maybe- We could hang out some other time, yeah?” You forced out before the captain of the track team’s spirits lifted enough for him to muster an optimistic smile.

“Yeah, I’d like that. We could grab a coffee after last period some time next week?”

Wow, he’s persistent. You pursed your lips and released a shaky breath before rifling through your bag to retrieve a piece of paper and a pen, hastily scribbling your phone number down before handing it to him.

“Whenever you want. Call me, that is.” You fumbled before the final bell sounded and you averted your gaze to the other crowds of students dispersing around you. “I’d better go. See you around.”

He nodded, cheeks alight with a subtle enough tinge of pink that you missed it entirely before you turned and jogged inside to make it to the vending machine before you were late to class, also missing the way Ryota Eto stared at the bit of paper in his hands in awe as his friends came to clap their hands on his shoulder with loud, congrats bro and you did it! Being called out proudly.

You groaned as you dragged your tired feet up the steps to your apartment complex, throwing a reluctant to wave at Mrs Tanigawa who stood at her balcony and returned it nervously.

“Did you find your cat, dear?”

“Yeah, thanks Mrs Tanigawa.” You called out, letting out a sigh of relief when the stairwell to your floor came into view. You needed a bath, and you needed sleep. You were hoping Grimmjow wouldn’t be too wired. Your hopes, however, were squashed when you heard the banging from the floor below and you let out a defeated sob. Fuck my life.

Jogging the rest of the way despite feeling like you could collapse, you panted as you rushed to your door, ignoring your inquisitive neighbours who were stood whispering in the hallway, sending you irate glowers as you waved them off.

“Sorry, sorry. My cat’s er- on medication. I-I’ll get him to keep it down.” Your excuse did little to appease the small gathering who sent you disapproving looks as you threw open your apartment door with a slam, ready to rip the illustrious Sexta Espada a new one.

“Would you please-“ You spat before you were stopped in your tracks by a very cold, very sharp blade at your throat. Shit.

“Well, well. Look who finally fuckin’ showed up.” The Espada growled out, eyes bloodshot and heavy with dark circles, looking like a bag of shit. You pursed your lips as you stared wide eyed at the knife in his hand, the biggest one in the knife block at that, of course.

“Grimmjow,” You stated carefully, “Put the knife down.”

He let out a spiteful laugh.

“You think I’m thick or somethin?’” He snarled, wobbling slightly on his feet as he towered over you, face ashen and greasy from sweat. He pressed the blade to your throat, looking positively rabid beneath a messy of turquoise locks. “Now you’re gonna tell me just what the fuck you’ve done to me.”

You blinked up at him.

“Huh?”

He growled and smacked a heavy hand against the door beside your head, leaning down to your level, breath hot and stale with the day after heavy drinking stench.

“Fuckin’ look at me. The hell did you do?” He spat, swallowing slightly as he took deep breaths and his eyes grew heavy. Oh god, is he gonna-

Splat.

The Sexta Espada bent double and hurled at your feet, the scrambled eggs you’d prepared so dotingly from him that very morning along with a tall glass of orange juice coming back up to splatter all over your converse. The knife clattered to the floor and you let out a cry of disgust.

“Idiot!” You spat, shoving him away as he groaned and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, collapsing against the side of the sofa and throwing his head back to take deep, raspy breaths. “You did this to yourself! What the hell were you thinking anyway? What the hell possessed you to drink that much?”

The Espada’s eyes rolled to you sluggishly as he watched you try and shake the vomit from your shoes as you urged yourself in disgust.

“Hah?” He slurred, chest hiccupping slightly and you half wondered if he had anything else to bring up. It seemed the vast majority of it was in a messy puddle at your feet.

“You!” You growled, slipping out of your converse and sneaker socks with a sickening squelch and lunging to the kitchen island to grab a dishcloth and begin wiping lumpy puke from your feet. “This is your fault! When you go to a bar and someone offers you a drink, for the love of God, say no next time!”

Grimmjow blinked slowly before groaning and grabbing his head, lurching forward to put his head between his knees. You rolled your eyes and once your feet were suitable free of the contents of his stomach, pulled him up to his feet, steadying him when he swayed slightly.

“Come on, lets get cleaned up.” You grumbled, pushing towards the bathroom. “You’ll feel better tomorrow. But remember this next time you decide to run off on your own and drink your body weight in alcohol.”

There was little resistance by the Espada who slumped over the sink holding his head as you ran the bath. You leaned back against the bathroom door before eyeing him.

“I’ll leave you to it.” You muttered, opening the door before you were interrupted by a hand suddenly slamming it shut.

“Stay.” He growled in your ear and you swallowed thickly, feeling your cheeks beginning to heat when you heard the muffling of him attempting to remove his clothes behind you. “Fuckin’ dammit. Help me with this shit!”

You huffed out a dry laugh and turned, finding him struggling to get his head out of the sweatshirt, toggles pulled too tight.

“You’re such a child.” You mused, “Come here.”

The Espada glowered down at you as you pulled the hem of his sweater up his stomach, watching you pause as the palm of your hands stroked over the define muscle of his naval. You shifted as you made contact with the hot firmness of his abdomen, too perfect to be real. The man was built like some kind of Greek god. It was entirely unfair. Your thighs rubbed together subconsciously, something the Arrancar didn’t miss, his deep turquoise eyes shooting to the space beneath your skirt which suddenly felt far too small under his heated gaze.

You cleared your throat and continued. Wishing more than anything that Ryota Eto had offered more than just a coffee. It might have helped relieve some of the tension you currently felt between your legs under the attention of the entirely too sexy Sexta Espada. And he wasn’t even aware of the filth that currently invaded your mind.

“Hey, hurry the fuck up!” He growled, voice muffled by the being enveloped by the thick fabric of the sweatshirt as you attempted to get it over his head.

“I’m-Shit, stop wriggling!” You grated out, trying to loosen the toggles as you stretched on the tips of your toes to pull it off. “I’m trying but- Damn, why is your head so big?”

“Fuck you, bitch!” He snarled, his own hands coming up to tug violently at the sweater only for it to suddenly fly off and he lost his footing. You cried out as he stumbled backwards, you following swiftly behind. He grunted when he slammed into the sink, sharp canines gritting together as he released a breath of relief. You groaned, feeling entirely done with the day and wishing the Arrancar would be quick with his bath so you could continue with your original plan which ultimately ended in you cocooning yourself in bed and hiding from the world.

He was eerily silent.

You opened your eyes and immediately jumped back when your realised just where your palm had instinctively landed in a failed attempt to ground yourself.

“O-Oh!” You yelped, turning away from him in hope that he didn’t see the way your face was glowing beet red. You cleared your throat. “Sorry. D-Did you need anything else?”

Shit. You hadn’t intended to sound so desperate. You inwardly cursed yourself, taking his silence and the eventual return of rustling sounds as a good sign that he wasn’t too hung up on it. You heard the sloshing of the bath water and the squeaking of firm skin against the ceramic tub which indicated he was finally in.

“Well?” He growled out. Your brow quirked as you turned to peer at him curiously over your shoulder, cheeks still slightly pink from your previous accidental grope of his junk. Your fingers twitched slightly, core thrumming at the thought that the Espada was definitely packing. Even when flaccid. You wanted to slap yourself out of whatever pent up sexual frustrations clouded your judgement but instead watched the Arrancar as he eyed you with a raised brow.

“Well what?” You muttered, voice cracking slightly as you tried to prevent your eyes from straying too far into the murky waters in case you lost all control over your better judgement. The Espada grit his teeth together.

“You comin’ in or what?” He grumbled out and your eyes grew round, mouth falling open slightly. Did he have any idea what he was even asking?!

“Uh, no. No thanks. I’ll wait.”

The turquoise haired Espada tutted and moved his legs up so his muscular knees rested above the water.

“Why the fuck not?” He spat and you huffed, brows furrowing and cheeks alight once more.

“Because-“ You stared and your brain immediately turned to mush when he rested his arms against the sides of the tub, glowering at your with those heated eyes through the hair the fell out of place too deliciously. “B-Because it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

He let out a sarcastic bark of a laugh.

“Yeah? And what about me d’you think’s fuckin’ appropriate?”

He makes a compelling case.

You shook your head. No. It wouldn’t be right. Get him a towel and leave. You reasoned with yourself. But the excitement of being naked with this man, sharing a hot bath with this man had your toes curling and your teeth worrying your lip.

“Grimmjow,” You warned, somewhat weakly. Your resolve crumbling before the Arrancar’s eyes. “We can’t.”

“Look, woman. Either you get your ass in here or I come out and drag your in here myself. What’ll it fuckin’ be?” He spat out and your breath hitched in your throat. Searching his face gave you the answer you needed at that moment in time. He wasn’t kidding. And your ass was in serious danger of being dragged into the bath whether you liked it or not. You swallowed thickly, turning your back to him.

“Fine.” You spat, cheeks on fire and heart hammering in your chest. “But don’t peek.”

You took slow and steady breaths, trembling hands going to the all too tight cheer top that you hadn’t bothered to change out of after last period and pulling it up slowly, inching it higher and higher above your waist until it rested beneath your sports bra. Taking a quick look over your shoulder, you found that the Espada, surprisingly, was not looking. Instead his head was turned and he was looking at the cabinet lined with floral shampoos and packets of unopened soaps in the corner. You sighed in relief before tugging the cheer uniform over your head and letting it drop to the floor. Next, your hands came up behind your back and unclasped your bra, letting it follow your uniform. Last was your skirt and panties.

You turned, still not trusting the Espada enough to bare your backside to him enough and clearly, your distrust was well founded. Because his eyes were on you the moment you turned around. Despite your arms covering your chest, you let out a sharp gasp.

“I thought I told you not to look!” You squawked and his head turned away the moment he was caught.

“Yeah, whatever. Just hurry the hell up.” He grumbled out. You narrowed your eyes at him but proceeded to move your hands down to the hem of your skirt, hooking your thumbs in the waistline of both the pleated article and your panties before dragging them downwards, not taking your eyes off of him for a second.

They fell to the floor and you stepped out of them hesitantly, watching the back of his head like a hawk should he decide to turn around last minute and get a good look at your bare form. You stepped into the tub, shuddering when the hot water enveloped the flesh of your legs and causing goosebumps to erupt over your flesh. You crouched before sinking into the water and allowing yourself to release a sigh of relief at the comforting feeling of the hot water. It was short lived, however, when you suddenly felt the Arrancar shift and the close proximity of the two of you became all too apparent.

Your eyes shot open when you felt his calf brush against your thigh, the limb slippery from the water and igniting a jolt of excitement from between your legs. You struggled to push yourself up, an arm covering your breasts from the pair of turquoise eyes that eyed your hungrily from the other end of the tub.

“Just-“ You hissed out from between clenched teeth, “-Try not to move around too much.”

The Arrancar watched you and, just like he liked to test you on all other boundaries you’d attempted to set with him, his eyes drifted to the space in between your knees, your hiccupped out a yelp when you felt what must have been a toe brush against the inner most part of your thigh, a mere hair away from your folds. You jolted upright and slammed your knees shut. You scowled at him, only for him to exhale sharply through his nose in dry amusement.

“That’s not funny.” You scolded and he rolled his eyes, leaning his head back against the ceramic edge and letting out a low groan. You swallowed and slowly relaxed back into the waters, following swiftly behind him.

“This fuckin’ sucks. When did you say I’ll stop doin’ that weird shit?”

“Tomorrow. If you’re lucky.”

“Hah?” His eyes shot open and he glowered at you. You attempted to hide your sneer beneath the water but clearly you didn’t hide it well enough. Because he was pushing himself up in the water, knees shifting and causing the water to shift with them, until you released a nervous squeak when he descended. His hands slammed down either side of your head, his hips forcing your own knees to part as he narrowed his turquoise eyes down at you through the moist tresses of hair. Your mouth opened and closed as you realised he just had to move a little closer and he’d be-

“The fuck did you just say?” He hissed out dangerously. “You said I’ll feel better tomorrow or some shit. You lyin’ to me?”

You swallowed the lump in your throat you hadn’t realised was present before bringing a hand up to push him back slowly.

“First off,” You cleared your throat, attempting to fight the heat that set your cheeks aflame from both the hot water and the close proximity of the very wet, very naked Arrancar trapping you within the muscly prison of his arms. “You drank a lot, from what I could tell anyways. Second,”

You succeeded in pushing him back but only at the expense of leaving some of the restricted curve of your breasts partially exposed for his hungry eyes to instantly land on.

“Please don’t get so close. Not when we’re… Like this.” You gestured down to yourself and the Arrancar tilted his head at you, eyes appraising your form silently. It was only then when a sly grin stretched across his face. One that made your breath hitch in your throat and worry for your own well-being. And for the Espada’s undeclared lack of sexual experience.

“This make you nervous, girlie?” He drawled, showing you those pearly white canines. The pet name had heat shooting straight beneath your legs and as your thighs rubbed together beneath the water, you had to wonder just how much it could be attributed to how slippery your folds felt.

“Yes.” You whispered out, unaware of how flustered your cheeks were or how hazy your eyes were becoming.

“Good. ‘Bout time you stopped runnin’ yer’ damn mouth.” He sneered down at you, inching closer to trap you in once more. You stooped lower and lower into the water until you couldn’t sink any more and the Espada’s eyes drifted once more from your face to the swell of your chest, a brow quirking up curiously as his hand moved from gripping the edge of the tub to the arm that covered what he was so intrigued by. You swallowed, knowing fully well that you wouldn’t be able to stop him if he truly wanted to. Nor do you think you’d want him to stop. That throbbing heat between your thighs growing too strong, too all consuming.

His hand wrapped around your bicep, turquoise eyes shooting up to your own pleading ones as his tongue flicked out briefly to lick at the tip of a sharp canine before he tugged sharply and-

In the room adjacent, the phone began to ring. You yelped and took the opportunity of brief distraction to grab a towel from the radiator to quickly stand and shield yourself from his prying eyes that blinked in surprise. You stumbled from the tub, nearly slipping twice before making a swift exit from the bathroom, and taking your discarded clothes with you in case he got any weird ideas.

You slammed the door shut, despite hearing his protests through the painted wood and breathed a sigh of relief, leaning your head back and nearly slumping to the floor until you remembered the phone was ringing.

You trudged over to the landline, clearing your throat and pulling it from the wall, a finger twisting in the cord as you leaned against the wall.

“Hello?”

“Y/N, hey! It’s Ryoto.”

Your eyes shifted to the bathroom door reluctantly when you heard the sound of the Espada’s slippery footsteps exiting the bath.

“Oh hey, sorry I can’t really talk right now. But I can give you a call tomorrow? Since it’s the weekend and everything. I should be free then.” The bathroom door shot open and revealed a very wet and very irate looking Grimmjow who, clad in only a towel clutched around his waist by a hand that wasn’t currently biting nails into the wood door frame to leave evident scratch marks, searched the room until his glower landed on you. “I- Uh, gotta go! Bye!”

You slammed the phone back down on the wall despite hearing the distant sounds of Ryoto’s voice still speaking down the line and let out a squeak when you turned and the Espada was right there.

“Who the fuck were you talkin’ to?” He eyed you suspiciously and you leaned against the wall in an attempt to create some distance between the two of you.

“No one important. Just some guy.”

If you were under the impression that this would appease the very disgruntled Arrancar, whose jaw tightened and his turquoise eyes narrowed impossibly further, you were in fact mistaken.

“Some guy? The fuck would he want?” He growled out. You scowled up at the Sexta Espada, feeling yourself bristle slightly at the tone he was taking with you.

“Well, I don’t really see how that’s any of your business, is it?” You huffed, turning to head to your bedroom in an attempt to cover yourself in something other than a towel which was wrapped precariously around you and doing little to cover you from the burning gaze of the Arrancar. One who grabbed hold of your wrist and wouldn’t let go.

“Grimmjow.” You growled in warning, trying to pull your arm free from his grasp but he was quick for one so big and pulled you to him, an arm bracing yourself around your waist and causing you to let out a squeak of surprise. His chest heaved up and down, his breaths were sharp through his nose and you realised as you looked up at him that his eyes were dilated.

“I just- Fuck!” He growled out, turquoise brows knitted together in frustration. The harshness that was previously set on your face slowly softened and you frowned, hesitantly reaching a trembling hand up to the side of his face to cup it gently. It’s not him. This is all new. It’s not his fault. You attempted to reason with yourself, to calm yourself and not do anything that might confuse the poor Espada further.

“Oh, fuck it.”

Your eyes shot open when his mouth crashed down onto your own and you barely had time to breathe. It was animalistic, feral, the way he kissed you. A violent action of gnashing teeth and harsh lips, jaw grinding with your own as he left you little choice but to reciprocate. So you stood there, taking every brutal gesture of his lips on your own, legs trembling and threatening to give out. Hands hung limply by your side as he ravished your mouth in the only way he probably knew how. Every thing about this man was violent, it should have been no surprise that the way he kissed you and grabbed fistfuls of your ass through the scratchy cotton of your towel would be any different.

You gasped a sharp intake of air when he finally relented, chest heaving and breath ragged as he eyed you hungrily, hands still palming desperately at your ass.

“Grimmjow,” You rasped, “Where did you learn that.”

“That stupid fuckin’ box you put on when you’re not gonna be around to piss me off.” He growled, guttural and animalistic in your ear as he pressed his mouth to the junction between your neck and shoulder in open mouthed kisses that were just as aggressive as the ones he’d inflicted on your lips. His teeth bit into the tender flesh and his hands pressed your entire front to his own, grunts of relief muffled from around your skin as you felt the intimidating girth from beneath his own towel. Hard, and grating against your sopping cunt from the angle he’d desperately taken, crouched slightly and rutting slowly and harshly up into you and causing you to whimper. Your restraint hanging by a mere thread at that point.

“Wait… Grimmj-Oh~”

The cause for the obscenely lewd noise that just escaped your lips in a blissed out cry and caused him to bite his groan of appreciation down harsher into your skin? The towels. The fucking towels had parted. As if by fate, the very way the stupid Espada had managed to tie his towel around his waist coincidentally had mirrored yours and the edges had both separated thanks to his slow and insistent ruts which caused his hot, thick, rubbery shaft to slide up between your very slippery folds and against your clit.

The Espada let out a low growl before his hands pressed you into him further, hips angling themselves as if driven by base instinct and you felt his movements grow harsher, more desperate.

“So-So fuckin’ wet.” He groaned out lowly, teeth pausing as he crouched slightly lower, testing, exploring new ways to find exactly what it was that was driving him at that point. “Ugh, fuck. S’so good.”

Your bleary eyes shot open as he angled his hips again, just enough for his cock to nestle itself through your slippery thighs. He let out more groans, eyes squeezed shut as he panted against your skin like an animal. You couldn’t remember when your hands had found purchase around the defined muscle of his back, but he grit his teeth as your nails bit into his flesh. You were jolted back to the present when he rutted once more, and instead of sliding along your folds as he had previously, your lips parted and you let out a cry as the bulbous head of his cock pushed inside.

There was no resistance. You were wet, hot, wanting. He was desperate, practically feral at that point and being led by his most primitive instincts. He buried his face into the nook of your shoulder and let out a drawn out groan.

“Ughh, fuck. That’s-That’s it.” He panted, pupils dilated until there was barely any turquoise to be seen. You bit your lip and pushed him away.

“No.” You whimpered, the Espada wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, lips stained with rust as he eyed you like a predator, leaning against the sofa with his chest heaving up and down. You looked to your shoulder and had to wonder when he’d managed to bite you hard enough to draw blood. You pulled the towel closer around you, thighs trembling as you tried to restrain yourself, your voice a mere whisper and giving away your lack of resolve at that point. “We can’t. I’m sorry.”

The Espada panted and gripped the sofa so hard you thought he might rip the stuffing out.

“Why the fuck not?” He growled out, the impressive tent of his towel telling you that this man could very well have fucked you dumb if you’d let him. But still, you averted your gaze and swallowed thickly, your pussy on fire and throbbing with need. To be touched by him, to be filled.

“I-It wouldn’t be right…” You muttered weakly, thighs pressing together as you refused to look at him. You just couldn’t go through with it. And you told yourself it was for his sake. But you could feel the way his eyes burned into you, glowering at you so intensely you might explode.

He growled in frustration, heels of his hands grinding into his sockets.

“You don’t make any fuckin’ sense!” He snapped, hand flying to gesture at the TV. “The fuckin’ bitch on there loved that shit! Fuckin’ ate it up, and you’re here whinin’ that self righteous crap like you’re doin’ me a favour or some shit!”

“I am doing you a favour, idiot.” You hissed, arms crossed over your chest as you frowned. “A couple of days ago you wanted to kill me. I can guarantee that if I’d let you out of those cuffs, you’d have strangled me to death. And now you want to fuck me? It’s not happening. You’re not in your right mind. I had to show you how to piss, Grimmjow. What makes you think for a second that it would be okay for me to come along and have sex with you when you’ve only just learned how to take a shit on your own. I’d be taking advantage of you. That’s not right and I won’t do it. I can’t.”

You hadn’t realised that he’d grown quiet, watching you with narrowed eyes as he leaned back against the sofa and analysed you silently. You had to curse whoever created this man. Because even now, you wanted to just throw yourself at him and allow him to do whatever the hell he wanted to your body. Morals be damned.

“That was before I fuckin’…”

Your mouth that was previously open and in wait to retaliate slowly shut as he let out a noise of defeat and snapped his own mouth shut, jaw tightening.

“I don’t fuckin’ know! Like hell do I know what the fuck’s goin’ on. Or what these Shinigami want from me.” He snarled, crossing his arms over his own impressive pectorals, looking more like a petulant child. But when his eyes landed back on you, you were in awe to find his expression soften ever so slightly. If you had blinked, you would have missed it. But you hadn’t. It had happened, and you’d seen it. And now your heart pounded against your chest erratically and without relent. “I just… I fuckin’ know there’s you and…”

He hadn’t said anything. It was a perfectly uninspiring sentence, yet why did it have you feeling as if you were on cloud nine? Your heart felt like it was going to burst forth from your chest and you had to stop yourself from surrendering yourself to him entirely. The way he looked at you, it was hungry and yet, there was something else there. Just like the night before. There was a soft longing within those turquoise depths that you were both elated and afraid of acknowledging. Urahara was right.

“Hey, it’s…” You reached a hand out to pat his shoulder uncomfortably and ironically in an effort to comfort him. “It’s alright. It’s normal. You’re human now. And we have… Years of learning about this kind of stuff. We meet so many people and we learn which ones we want to have… Relations- Sex with. It’s just that,”

“I’m the first person you’ve been around and it’s- I’m flattered. And I care about you. But it wouldn’t be fair on you to keep you to myself when you might only feel this way because of our… Situation. Does that make sense?”

He stared at you, unblinking.

“That was sex?”

You grit your teeth and you resisted the urge to slap your forehead. You had to wonder if he’d heard anything else you’d said.

“Well, no.” You grit out, “It was the… What you’re feeling- it’s, you want sex.”

His eyes averted to the side as he thought to himself, looking positively perplexed.

“Huh. Never had that before.”

“I can tell.”

His narrowed eyes shot back to you as you stifled an amused smile.

“Watch it.”

“Sorry. But yeah, sex. Humans have sex to procreate, or for pleasure. But every one’s different. Some people don’t feel the desire to have sex at all. But I think maybe we should speak to Urahara in the morning. He’ll be better at explaining these things than me.”

“Like fuck am I talkin’ to that bucket hat bastard about this.” He grumbled and you rolled your eyes.

“You know, life here would be a lot easier if you just sucked it up and at least tried to be civil.”

The Espada turned his head to the side in defiance. Like a child.

“Ain’t no fuckin’ way. Next time I see one of them, I’m knockin’ their ass in the dirt.”

You shrugged.

“Suit yourself. Makes no difference to me. Just try not to kill anyone in here. One more warning from the building manager and my ass is in the dirt.”

“Yeah well, I’ll fuckin’ kill them while I’m at it.”

You smiled at that, finding it… oddly sweet? You supposed that was the extent of sweetness when it came to Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Threats of bodily harm. But still, it had your heart skipping a beat all the same. Your eyes looked to the clock on the wall, finding that as the sun was setting, you were in dire need of some rest.

“Let’s get you changed and I’ll make us some dinner. It’s getting late.” You said, turning to head into your room to see what else you could ferret out from the depths of your closet. You hadn’t even heard him follow you in but as you were on your hands and knees and let out a triumphant aha! When you found an old pair of joggers and a black T shirt once again left by your ex, you turned to find him eyeing the same picture on your chest of drawers.

“The fuck is this woman?”

“Show some respect.” You drawled, pushing yourself to your feet to press the folded clothes into his arms. “It’s my mother.”

“The fuck’s that?”

“A conversation for another time. Go get changed. I’ll make dinner.” You smiled up at him, feeling a warmth glowing within your chest at the way his eyes dropped to your lips once more and he grunted before leaving to change into the clothing, which was easier for him to get on and off, much to your relief. You settled on good ol’ reliable box mac n’ cheese seeing as you’d already spent your weekly takeout budget on pizza the other day.

You ate dinner in relative silence, but it was comfortable. You couldn’t remember a time when you’d felt this relaxed with another person, and it was ironic considering said person had threatened to kill you only days ago. It didn’t really occur to you that Grimmjow could have left any time that day with his newfound freedom from being released from the cuffs that originally bound his wrists. But he hadn’t. Instead, he chose to stay and listen to you as you tried to educate him on the silly little trivialities of the world of the living. In fact, unbeknownst to you, leaving was the last thing on his mind as he watched you with a hidden smile quirking at his lips, talk on and on about stuff he didn’t really understand or care about.

He didn’t understand much of what was going on, but you were here. And he found himself wanting to be here with you, for whatever reason that could possibly be he didn’t completely know himself.

Chapter Text

The following day, you’d awoke with a well rested stretch and looked to the clock on your bedside table, the neon red 7:30AM blinking back at you. The horrors of yesterdays lingering hangover behind you, you threw your duvet back and let out a sigh before standing and slipping your feet into your slippers. Judging by the peaceful silence, it was safe to say the Espada hadn’t risen from his slumber yet. Quietly, you turned the doorknob and shuffled out into the living room, finding that he was, in fact, still fast asleep. You sniggered at the sight of him, sprawled out, mouth wide open with crusted drool flaking at the corner of his mouth with an arm thrown over his head. He was no sleeping beauty, but you had a skip in your step either way.

You quietly made your way to the kitchen, opening the fridge to pull out the bacon and eggs as well as stopping by the cabinet to wedge the pack of rice in the crook of your elbow before you started cooking breakfast. As you broke the eggs, placed the bacon on the frying pan and decanted an appropriate amount of rice into the rice cooker, you fiddled with the stereo, tuning into the Karakura radio station, playing some Western girl group that were particularly popular at the present. Spice something or other. You turned the volume low, in an attempt to keep from awakening his Royal Highness, and continued cooking whilst humming along absentmindedly.

The Espada had good timing, he arose with a blinking of weary eyes and a stretch of muscled arms before smacking his lips and his eyes instantly landed on you.

“The fuck’s got you so damn happy this morning?” He grunted out, barely conscious.

You just continued to hum, ignoring him.

“Bitch.” He muttered under his breath as he swung his legs over the sofa and stood with a roll of his shoulders, joints cracking.

“Good news. We’re getting you some new clothes today.” You drawled. The Espada looked down at himself and then back at you with narrowed eyes.

“The fuck’s wrong with these things?”

You sighed and began plating up, first the rice, then the fried eggs and then the bacon. Before you poured two glasses of orange juice and prepared two mugs for coffee.

“As much as I love seeing you in my ex boyfriend’s clothes like a ghost from the past come back to haunt me, I don’t have an endless supply of them in my wardrobe unfortunately. So, I thought you might like to come with me an choose your own.”

“Ex boyfriend? Fuck’s that?” He grumbled, taking a seat at the kitchen island and slurping down the orange juice in one go. You rolled your eyes.

“Nothing for you to worry about.” You drawled, rounding him and taking a seat beside him, pouring out the coffee into the two mugs, one for you and one for him. He curled his nose up in disgust as he sniffed at it reluctantly before pushing it away.

“Smells like shit.” He spat, making a laugh bubble out from your throat.

“You don’t drink it for the taste. You drink it for the energy. Not that you need caffeine.” You mumbled the last part, wondering if it was in fact a good idea to give the violent Espada more means to be insufferable. Grimmjow looked down at the mug before bringing it to his lips and taking a reluctant sip before pulling a face and spitting it back into the mug.

“Shit’s fuckin’ disgusting. You drink this crap?” He wiped his mouth and you laughed, standing from your seat to grab the milk and sugar. He watched you warily as you poured a good amount of milk and a generous spoonful of sugar into the mug before sliding it back over to him.

“Now try it.” You hummed, before sitting down to scoop mouthfuls of fragrant rice, creamy egg and crispy bacon into your mouth followed by a sip of black coffee. He took another reluctant drink and allowed it to swish around in his mouth before swallowing it.

“Better. Fuck that shit you’re drinkin.’” He mumbled and you hid your grin behind your mug.

You ate breakfast in silence, you savouring your coffee and bowl of rice, egg and bacon and Grimmjow devouring it like a creature possessed. Once again, you weren’t surprised by his lack of table manners. He was brutish, an it was only fitting that he ate the same way. With a mess of rice and egg splattering to the top of the marble island and bits of rice stuck to his chin. You rolled your eyes and lifted his face to wipe it away, causing those teal eyes to bore into your own.

“You eat like an animal.” You tutted, causing him to slap your hand away and resume devouring his meal.

Once the dishes were washed and you’d given him strict instructions to brush his teeth, after he’d yelled at you for snatching the TV remote from his hand and a bit of rice had flown freely to splat against your cheek, you’d gotten dressed. Assessing the weather from your windows and deciding it was looking a bit too overcast for shorts, you decided on a pair of jeans and a cropped tee. You brushed your hair quickly before brushing your own teeth, all under the curious surveillance of the Arrancar who studied you from the sofa, and grabbed your keys and your bag.

“You ready?”

He simply rolled his eyes and stalked behind you and out of the door.

You watched him press his face against the window of the shop, reminiscing over the fact that you’d likely broken every single rule Urahara had strictly instructed you to follow. But evidently, the Espada was enjoying himself. After scaring the crap out of some kids who had kicked a ball into his shin accidentally, and growling at a pair of elderly women who had cooed about young love when you brushed a hand through his wind swept hair after a particularly turbulent gust. He was clearly having the time of his life.

“Absolutely fuckin’ not.” He snarled dangerously when you held the sweater vest up to his chest. You opened and closed your mouth in disbelief.

“But they’re all the rage. All the trendy young people are wearing them. Even I have one.”

“The fuck is even the point in this? Where d’you even put your fuckin’ sword?” He growled, stretching the knit fabric out before rolling his eyes and throwing it back over the rail. The sales assistant to the side was quaking in his boots and definitely going to resign at the end of this shift, you just had a feeling. You tutted.

“Hush. People will think you’re talking about something else.” You murmured, looking around to find people were in fact sending you both disapproving looks. A mother even held her hands over her child’s ears and ushered them out of the shop at great speed. You were beginning to think that maybe this wasn’t the best idea.

“Ha! Now that’s more fuckin’ like it!” He grinned, dragging you out to the street where he pointed at a shop that was adorned with satanic emblems and splashes of crimson eerily similar to that of blood. You looked to Grimmjow who grinned manically. Makes sense. You thought to yourself before he grabbed your arm and dragged you out into oncoming traffic that beeped noisily at the pair of you. The Espada paid them no mind, and even sent a few creative hand signals of his own their way, ones you were sure he’d seen on TV. You reminded yourself to put parental control on the television when you got home.

You entered the shop, only to be greeted by the most unenthusiastic sales rep at the counter who gave you a brief bored stare from leaning on their fist before going back to flipping through their manga, lower lids heavy with eyeliner.

Grimmjow let out a violent cackle as he picked up a belt, black leather and adorned with sharp metal studs.

“See? You could tear someone’s throat out with this fucker!”

You laughed nervously as you placed your hands on his in an attempt to lower the belt away from risk of the blood thirsty Espada taking someone’s eye out. You didn’t get this far to watch the turquoise haired Arrancar be arrested for committing a felony.

“Yeah, but you wear it around your waist. Like this, see?” You took it from his hands and wrapped it around him, looking up at him to find that his eyes were already looking down at you as if in a trance. A smile quirked at your lips as you gestured for him to follow your eyes and he raised a brow curiously at the studded accessory at his hips.

“S’Stupid. Can’t maim anythin’ from down there.” He grumbled. You hummed and decided that maybe you should get a basket. You turned around to find the sales rep from the counter before at Grimmjow’s side, leaning against the rail with a finger twirling through her hot pink hair. Your face fell as a pang of jealousy shot through you. No. This is good. This is the way it’s supposed to be. He’s not yours. You settled on leaving him to it as you perused the rails of alternative clothing, deciding on ones you thought he might like best with his… acquired tastes. Still, you couldn’t help but look up every now and again to the potential budding attraction between the Espada and the sales rep who, by all means, was probably more his type anyway.

There was a sadness that weighed heavy on your heart, at the thought of Grimmjow making another feel as special as he made you feel. There was no denying that the Espada was a raving lunatic at the best of times, but since becoming human, he seemed softer. Less reluctant to inflict bodily harm on others. You could take him out in public without him murdering someone. And there were those soft little looks in his eyes that he reserved only for you. He listened to you when you spoke to him, with the occasional back sass or roll of the eyes, nothing you couldn’t handle or find somewhat amusing. He'd come into your care as a clueless ex-Arrancar, thirsty for blood.

You shook the thoughts from your mind. You were being silly.

You like him.

Your face soured as you remembered Lieutenant Abarai’s words and even now, green with jealousy at the idea of Grimmjow showing some one else the soft yet possessive attention he showed you, you refused to admit that the warmth that glowed in your chest when you were around the Arrancar was something akin to like. Even that was too strong a word, but you could maybe settle for begrudging attraction. He was no Casanova but the Espada had natural allure without even knowing it. Which is why it worried you that what you saw in Grimmjow, another could quite easily see also.

So you stewed in your misery alone and with a frown ever plastered to your face.

It was only when you heard a slap echo through the shop beneath the sound of the humming air con that your eyes shot up to find him looking around with a tight jaw and the rep no where to be seen. Your heart plummeted to the ground and your mouth grew dry, thinking of the worst possible scenario as you threw the basket to the floor and sprinted over to him.

“What happened?” You quizzed him and he glowered down at you.

“That bitch was fuckin’ crazy.” He spat, “She asked me for my number so I told her. Sexta Espada. And the psycho back handed me!”

You blinked briefly before you began sniggering to yourself. Oh no. How unfortunate.

“Grimmjow, I hate to tell you this. But I think she was hitting on you.”

“Yeah, I’ll say. That fuckin’ hurt.”

“No, as in she wanted to hook up with you. Get to know you. Have uh… Relations?” You whispered the last part. His brows furrowed as he looked to where she’d fled off with a stomping of platform leather boots.

“Hah?”

“Yeah, but I think she thought you were asking her for sex.” You drawled, leading him back to the basket you’d discarded before placing your arm through the handles and resuming holding articles of clothing up to him to see how they looked on him. Grimmjow kept looking over his shoulder curiously.

“So? I fail to see the fuckin’ problem.”

You rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, not everyone likes to be propositioned for sex as soon as you meet them. You’ll learn that pretty quick.”

His dark eyes returned to you and his lips stretched into a sharp smirk.

“You liked it last night.” He purred and your eyes rounded, watching as he leaned against the rail with folded arms, eyeing you up and down. When the hell did this guy get so much rizz? Your cheeks flushed and you cleared your throat.

“Not in public, please. People will hear you.” You warned him, moving past him to hang one of the least impressive articles back on the rail. No fishnet. Definitely no fishnet. You were interrupted when he was suddenly behind you, breathing hotly in your ear as you attempted to concentrate on the task at hand but it was proving increasingly difficult. Especially when his fingers subtly stroked a strand of hair from your neck. Should that be sensual? That should definitely not be this sensual.

“You were pretty wet. That always happen?” He purred under his breath meanwhile your breath hitched in your throat, with no hope of escape as his nose came to the crown of your head and he inhaled the scent of your hair with a deep huff. Obviously the Espada had been thinking about your little mishap the night before, and you would be lying to yourself if you said that it hadn’t been on your mind too. What you knew was that it was getting harder and harder to resist temptation. You were in danger of breaking the one promise you’d been making to yourself ever since these feelings and stirrings rose to the surface. You jolted and turned, pushing the basket into his hands with a face as red as a beet.

“Go try these on.” You commanded, pushing him in the direction of the changing rooms with a squeaking of his slightly too small sandals against the shop floor. “ And try the boots on too. You look like you’re on holiday in those things.”

“Gah, fuck. How the hell are these meant to go on- shit!”

You groaned in your hands.

“The tag means it’s the back.” You called out from your seat beside his cubicle. “I can’t come in there. We’ll be kicked out. Especially if you start talking about your sword again.”

“The world of the livin’ fuckin’ sucks.” He spat out and you sniggered.

“An opinion shared by many, I think you’ll find. Now hurry up. We have other things to do today.”

A few minutes later, he burst forth from the cubicle with a kick from his new Dr Martens, a pair of tartan tapered jeans with a little chain attached to the pocket and a band tank. Metallica, you think it says? You couldn’t make out the writing despite studying English in High School which was mandatory these days. He was still struggling with the belt but he looked… Good. It suited him. And you tried but failed miserably not to look at his ass in those jeans as he turned to look in the mirror and grinned maniacally at the spiked collar around his throat. Like the perfect peach. You sighed absentmindedly before approaching to help him buckle his belt.

“Whadd’ya think?” He barked out a laugh before turning to you with open, insanely muscular arms.

You smiled.

“You look ho-good.” You fumbled, twisting your hair slightly as you looked upon the Espada in his new clothes, thinking how eagerly you wanted this creature to bend you over this very minute and rail you into the, well, clothes rails. He let out a triumphant laugh and brushed a hand through his hair, you silently admired the prominent veins that stretched up his bicep and over the backs of his hands. He caught you looking and sent you an impish grin, one that had you rolling your eyes.

“Come on, Jon Bonjovi. Let’s go find some clothes for the rest of the days of the week.” You drawled and the Espada followed you out, finding a new member of staff at the counter, who eyed the Arrancar with scrutiny.

You’d managed to find pretty much everything you would hope to find. And even treated the turquoise haired Espada to some underwear, ones with the patterns of slasher film villains like Jason all over, he was pretty insistent on those ones. You were sure he had no idea what it was in reference to, and that he only liked it because of the little blood stain patterns. He also got some socks. It was only when you got to the checkout that you paled at the total cost. There goes my new car. You thought mournfully before giving the sales rep your credit card. He would be holding the bags, of that you were certain.

Despite your initial fear of how he would behave, he was being… oddly subdued. It was only when you stopped for a coffee that you really had a chance to pick his brains on the matter as he sipped away at his sugary iced mocha frappe latte thing that he’d demanded you buy him, and watched the world go by outside the windows.

“So, are you having a nice time?” You asked over your Americano. The Espada shrugged and slurped at his coffee.

“S’alright,” He stopped to bark out a cruel laugh and point outside. “Hey, look! That kid just ate shit. Dumb brat.”

You rolled your eyes. Maybe no more coffee for the murderous Espada today. But there was something bothering you. And you knew it wasn’t your place but you felt like your mind wouldn’t rest until you’d gotten it off your chest.

“So… That sales rep.”

He stopped his slurping once more and raised a quizzical brow at you.

“Yeah? What about her.” He grumbled and you took a deep breath.

“Would you? I mean- If she’d wanted to. Would you have… Y’know…”

The Espada slammed his now empty coffee on the table of the booth you were sat in, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth before shrugging.

“Dunno. Probably not.” He muttered before eyeing you curiously. “Why?”

You hummed, nursing your mug of coffee close to your chest.

“It’s nothing. Just curious. I am the first person you’ve had to tolerate. So just call it… Scientific curiosity.”

The Espada stretched his arms above his head and leaned back.

“Well, she’s wasn’t you if that’s what you’re askin.’” He grumbled, deep turquoise eyes staring out at the outside world and you couldn’t help the small smile that twitched at your lips, enjoying the pleasant warmth at his unexpectedly sweet words, whether he intended it or not.

“She was cute. Thought you might have been interested.” You mused and he huffed, eyes narrowing on you.

“You tryin’ to palm me off or somethin?’” He growled out before a wry grin stretched across his face, “Face it. You’re stuck with me, babe. Ain’t nothin’ you can do about it.”

Your heart thrummed and once again, you found your thighs squeezing together at his words, at the little pet name he’d thrown in there for good measure. No more TV for him. It’s was obviously hazardous to both of you at this point. His eyes rolled over you as he leaned back against the leather of the booth, a smirk playing at his lips.

“Yeah, you like that?”

You choked on your coffee and before you could think to scold him, your day was interrupted and potentially ruined.

“Y/N?”

Grimmjow’s brows furrowed as he followed the familiar voice to the one person in the world that could have him lunging over the table with intent to kill.

Ichigo.

Chapter Text

“Y/N? What the hell are you playing at?” Ichigo seethed between clenched teeth. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

Your round eyes looked to Ichigo and then back to grimmjow, then to Rukia and Chad who stood in stunned silence and then back to Ichigo… But then once again shooting back to Grimmjow for good measure.

“Oh… Uh…” You fumbled out but before you could say anything, the Espada stood, nearly toppling the table over, his fist coming to curl in the collar of your brother’s red and white polo shirt causing you to push yourself up from the table and make a futile attempt to calm the Espada down. 

“Grimmjow, wait-“ You hissed, trying to reach for him but finding the table too wide, your arms too short and well, Grimmjow too hell bent on committing a crime today apparently.

“You got somethin’ to say, bastard?” The Espada spat, his other hand clenching into a fist beside your brother’s glowering face who leaned away from the Arrancar who looked poised and ready to strike the moment someone made a wrong move. You groaned and held your head in your hands. It was all going too well. And now you were gonna have to bail the Espada out of jail too. He was becoming a very expensive commodity that you could not afford. Grimmjow sneered at Ichigo, who admittedly was managing to keep his cool, despite the precarious situation he found himself in, with the Sexta Espada who was moments away from starting round two after their near ‘battle to the death.’ “C’mon, soul reaper. Just me ‘n you this time. I’ll kick your ass-“

“Grimmjow, come on. Sit down, people are staring.” You hissed and the Arrancar’s angry turquoise eyes looked around to find that yes, people were staring. And whispering. He let out a tch and pushed Ichigo away, your strawberry blonde brother smoothing his shirt down and scowling at you vehemently. The Arrancar slid back into the booth and leaned his arms over the top of the booth and you sighed in relief before narrowing your eyes up at your brother.

“Can we help you?” You asked between gritted teeth, which was admittedly difficult to do whilst taking another sip of your coffee. Ichigo gestured to the Espada and then to you with a tightened jaw and pursed lips.

“What the hell is this?” He asked through gritted teeth and the Espada rolled his eyes with a sneer and crossed arms.

“It’s fuckin’ coffee, kid. You drink it for energy. Not for taste. Grow up.”

You choked on your Americano at Grimmjow’s back sass. Being brand new to this whole human thing was obviously causing the turquoise haired Espada to be somewhat impressionable, that you knew. But you didn’t expect him to take your word as law. Better watch what else I say in front of the big guy. Ichigo held a hand over his face before pinning you with a stern look.

“If the soul society finds out-“ He hissed out in a whisper and you interrupted him, placing your mug back on the table and raising your eyebrows.

“As far as the soul society is concerned, they owe me. A lot. Besides, he was having a nice time. Before you showed up.” You bit back, scowling at your brother. The Espada scoffed and leaned on the table on his forearms.

“I gotta take a piss.” He murmured underneath his breath whilst staring at you, and you gestured to the bathrooms.

“Over there. But go in the men’s. I’m trying very hard to not get you arrested today.”

“Whatever.” He grumbled before standing and leaving the booth but not before bumping shoulders with Ichigo who scowled after him. He looked back to you and you only shrugged and let out a sigh as you felt the incoming lecture.

“You’re playing a risky game, Y/N. I hope you know that.” He crossed his arms over his chest and Rukia looked between the two of you, her dark eyes assessing the situation carefully and surprisingly still silent up until this point.

“Ichigo’s right. Urahara said-“

“Yes. Urahara said a lot of things. But look, he’s having fun. Not killing people. What’s so bad about that?” You rolled your eyes, pouting like akin to a petulant child. Chad looked over towards the bathrooms before looking back to you.

“Want me to go check on him?” He asked in the usual deep baritone of his voice. You shrugged.

“If you want. He’ll figure it out.”

“Y/N, you know what’s going to happen to him. It’s not going to end well. I think it would be best if you kept this strictly professional.” Rukia stated sternly, her timeless wisdom giving her disguise away despite the pretty yellow sundress that made her look deceivingly young. You scoffed and pushed your coffee mug away, finding yourself no longer in the mood for it.

“Look, I’m not going to pretend I’m okay with whatever it is the Soul Society has planned for him, alright? It’s wrong. And it’s barbaric. But I can’t change that.” You sighed, brows knitted together in frustration. “But just… Let him enjoy the time he has left. You want information? Well, I’m sure he’ll tell us whatever it is we want to know. Hell, I’m not even sure he knows anything Aizen has planned.”

The conversation left a bad taste in your mouth, even more so when the Espada appeared once more looking blissfully unaware of the conversation that was taking place. It made you feel sick to your stomach.

“Oi, girlie.” He called out to you and you looked to him, your sombre expression lifting somewhat. You’d hoped he hadn’t overheard your conversation. “Let’s go. This place is weird. They got toilets on the fuckin’ walls in there.”

You snorted and rose from the booth.

“Well, we’ll be seeing you… or not.” You shrugged helping Grimmjow grab the shopping bags and not thinking much of the way he slung his arm around your shoulders possessively and missing entirely the way he bared his teeth in a warning snarl at Ichigo as you left the coffee shop.

“Disturbing.” Chad spoke quietly. Rukia nodded with a grunt.

“Very.”

“Don’t even want to think about it.” Ichigo groaned turning as they got in line to order their drinks.

“The fuck is that guy’s deal anyway.” Grimmjow spat, arm still slung around your shoulders absentmindedly as you walked down the sidewalk. “Talks to you like a piece of shit and you just sit there and take it. If it was me, I’d have cut him down before he can start-“

“Let’s go home.” You intercepted, wanting to not think about your brother any longer. Nor the macabre thoughts induced by the conversation regarding the Espada’s foreboding fate. Grimmjow just shrugged, slipping his arm from your shoulders and you walked back towards your apartment complex in a now uncomfortable silence as you got lost in your thoughts. Should I tell him?

On one hand, you could get it out of the way and he would probably hate you for hiding the truth. On the other hand, it wouldn’t necessarily change anything. Whether you told him or not, the guy’s days were numbered. If anything, you were just making things difficult by leaving yourself wide open to catch feelings for the guy. It just meant that when the inevitable did happen, it would be all the more painful.

When you reached the apartment, you carried the bags up the steps and bumped into Mrs Tanigawa on the landing. Your throat clenched as she looked between you and Grimmjow in surprise, her old eyes twinkling as a smile stretched across her face.

“Y/N! Is this young man your boyfriend?” She teetered, hunched old form slumping over her shopping trolley. Your round eyes looked up at Grimmjow who returned it with a curious look himself, waiting to hear your response in surprising silence.

“Uh, yeah. Mrs Tanigawa, this is-“ Oh no. You couldn’t use the name you’d already given your very unreal cat. Think, think! You looked around and couldn’t find a single damn thing you could use as an alias. You looked to your door and thought for a minute. Shadows danced beneath the door and you grit your teeth, not expecting the Lieutenants to come today. Shit, this day just gets better and better. “-This is Shuhei Hisagi. My, uh, boyfriend.”

Grimmjow quirked a brow at you and you tried your best to not make direct eye contact with him, especially with how hot your cheeks felt currently. Mrs Tanigawa clasped her bony old hands together and cooed.

“How lovely! Would you two like to come in for some tea? I’ve just made a honey cake, fresh from the oven-“  

As Grimmjow opened his mouth, you quickly intercepted him before he might say anything devastatingly obnoxious that could destroy your already debatable good reputation in this apartment complex.

“No, sorry, we can’t. We’re expecting company!” You blurted out, pushing the Espada who cursed out protests towards your door. “It was nice talking to you though!”

You sighed in relief as you shoved the objecting Arrancar into your apartment and slammed the door shut on Mrs Tanigawa who only blinked in confusion behind her jam jar lenses. You turned and your relief was short lived at the sight of the two Lieutenants who looked very, very unhappy.

“Y/N…” Lieutenant Abarai gritted out from between clenched teeth.

Your round eyes shot to Grimmjow, who by all means was definitely being tested today. It was a Shinigami- Arrancar stand off. The Lieutenants, who had already raised to their feet, were slowly moving their hands to the pummels of their Zanpakuto. The Arrancar’s left foot skid back and looked like he was ready to kill with a tight jaw and blazing teal eyes, growling out a menacing Shinigami to nobody in particular. You whined and quickly shot in between the opposing sides, hands outstretched.

“No, no! Stop. Before you do anything rash, please think of the furniture!” You cried.

“Outta my way.” The Arrancar growled, a steely hand on your shoulder and ready to shove you aside should push come to shove, his eyes pinned on the two Shinigami like a predator hungry for blood. In return, the Lieutenants waited silently for the Arrancar to make the first move. You huffed and turned to him.

“Calm down. Otherwise I’ll have to cuff you again.” You pleaded, his manic teal eyes flitting down to you briefly before returning to the Shinigami. He was silent for a time and you half expected to be tossed to the side in the Arrancar’s pursuit of Shinigami blood. But he didn’t. His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed, but he seemed to relax his stance somewhat and push his nose into the air dejectedly.

“Fine.” He grumbled out, choosing to stalk to take a seat at the kitchen island, far away from either of the soul reapers and your shoulders sagged in relief at the de-escalated fight that surely would have broken out if you’d not carefully diffused the situation. The lieutenant’s brows furrowed in perfect unison as they shared a wary look and you frowned at them. You would admit that you were as surprised as anyone. Who knew The Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was capable of being the better man.

“For the love of god, sit down!” You snapped, not wanting to risk another stalemate. “I’ll make some tea.”

Some time later, once the tea had been prepared and distributed quietly, you sat in eerie silence, watching between both parties as they looked to each other. It was tense. It was uncomfortable and it had you ready to break up a fight before it could start. It was Renji who looked to you with narrowed eyes.

“The hell do you think you’re playing at.” He hissed, tea going cold on the coffee table in front of him as both soul reapers were apparently reluctant to let their guard down enough to indulge in a hot beverage. “Letting that lunatic loose on the streets for a second time. Are you outta your mind?”

You narrowed your arms at him and folded your arms.

“You put me in charge of taking care of him. He had no clothes, not even so much as a tooth brush!” You hissed out. “What do you expect me to do? Let him hang around here while he stinks up the place in a week old, unwashed hakama?”

“Oi.” The Espada growled out, tearing off a spongey mouthful of the blueberry muffin you’d plated up for him as he glowered at the back of your head. You held a hand over you face as you slumped back against the sofa.

“Look, you’re all already asking a lot from me. But please. Just understand that he’s not killed a single person since he’s been here. Me included.” You held your arms out as they eyed you warily. Lieutenant Hisagi seemed all the more vigilant with ensuring your well being. Squinting as he leaned forwards in his seat to inspect you for any signs of harm. Not that you really understand why. “See? Perfectly intact and not dead.”

You lowered your tone as you shot the Arrancar a careful look over your shoulder quickly, he seemed preoccupied somewhat with trying to fit his thick finger through the handle of your delicate floral teacup and gritting his teeth in frustration when it just wasn’t to be. You turned back to the lieutenants.

“He’s making progress. We even ran into Ichigo and he only threatened him once.” You whispered and Renji bowed his head, brows furrowed as he equally kept his voice low, should the Arrancar over hear his words.

“Have you told him yet?”

You straightened your back and shook your head, taking a sip from your tea to attempt to calm your conscience. Lieutenant Abarai scoffed and crossed his arms.

“What are you doing? You know what’s coming, Y/N. All we asked you to do was-“

You could feel the Espada’s fidgeting cease along with the clattering of his teacup and you shot the lieutenant a warning look, aware that the man in question was now listening to your conversation.

“Grimmjow?” You turned to give him your undivided attention to find him already staring at you with narrowed, suspicious eyes. “Did you want to watch some TV? I’m just going to show the uh- Shinigami out.”

The Espada grunted as you stretched for the remote and pressed the big red button, the television humming to life as a car chase program seemed to ultimately transfix him as he stalked over and plopped himself down in front of it with crossed legs. You pushed yourself to your feet in unison with the Lieutenants who eyed him warily. Moving to the door, you turned and watched the Arrancar, still staring at the high speed car chase but with a malicious grin, with somewhat sad eyes.

“You’re getting distracted, Y/N. Just find out what you can and update us so we can move things along.”

You swallowed at Lieutenant Abarai’s hissed whisper as you opened the door for them. Lieutenant Hisagi lingered slightly, sorrow in his eyes as he looked between you and the Espada who cackled as an explosion sounded from the TV, causing you to eye him curiously.

“I-“

“Hisagi, let’s go.” The soul reaper in question averted his eyes to the ground before withdrawing towards his companion who gave you one last hard look.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, because the Captain won’t take kindly to insubordination. Think on it.” He muttered before guiding the other Lieutenant, who looked somewhat deflated, away from your apartment and down the staircase. Your shoulders slumped as you closed the door with a quiet click and you leaned against it, thinking over his words.

You wanted to pretend. That you did, in fact, know exactly what you were doing. But truthfully, you had no clue. You looked over to the ex-Espada whose turquoise eyes glowed from the light of the TV, flitting about the screen as he took in the pixelated explosions and released maniacal laughter when one of the vehicles detonated in a mess of flames and flying debris. This was supposed to be so simple. Keep the Espada safe, collect all information you could, hand him back over to the Soul society and carry on with your life. Except… The very thought that one day, the big angry lump that is Grimmjow would not be an ever present anomaly in your apartment had your heart clenching in your chest and your throat growing tight.

“Oi, woman.”

You swallowed thickly and turned your attentions back to the Espada but jumped slightly when you found that he was not, in fact, where you had left him.

The tall, broad Arrancar towered over you and pinned you with narrowed eyes that were alight with a predatory, turquoise glow. His thumbs hooked in the pockets of his tartan pants and his knuckles curled into tight fists over his toned thighs as he eyed you suspiciously.

“What is it?-“

“Don’t like the way that damn Shinigami looks at you.” He growled out.

Your brows furrowed as you processed his words slowly, your confusion evident as you repeated them in your mind. The way he spat them like a foul taste on his tongue, the dark shadows on his face from the late afternoon light making him look all the more dangerous, the tension in his jaw muscles as he grit his teeth tightly together. You knew that very same feeling, you could see it in the unflattering fish eye security mirror of the shop earlier that day on your own face.

You did the only thing you could think of doing in that uncomfortable situation. You scoffed and crossed your arms over your chest.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean-“

“The tattooed asshole. Fuckin’ looks at you funny.”

Shuuhei?

You shook your head and retreated to the kitchen with an exasperated sigh. You did not want a repeat of the night before. Where Grimmjow was being jealous and weird and you ended up crossing lines that shouldn’t have been crossed. You were in danger of returning to dicey territory and your principles wouldn’t allow it.

“I’m sure you’re over thinking things,” You drawled, opening the cabinets to search for the closest packets of instants ramen. Miso? Kimchi? You couldn’t decide. “Now, more importantly, how much spice do you think you can handle?”

“Don’t fuckin’ do that.” He snarled, stalking to the other side of the kitchen island and glowering at you from a safe distance. For now.

“Do what?” You asked absentmindedly, turning and eyeing the back of the packets with scrutiny before turning on the hob. The Arrancar released a sharp ‘tch,’ before sliding onto one of the stools at the island.

“That. Changin’ the damn subject!” He growled out.

“I’m not. I’m just choosing not to encourage you.”

“Fuckin-‘”

“Spicy or not spicy?”

He grunted before resting his chin on his hand, eyes following you as you flitted about the kitchen, boiling the kettle and pulling a pan from the cabinet.

“Spicy.” He spat, forgetting the conversation prior for now. Although the uneasy feeling of his scowl on you remained which told you it was still at the forefront of his mind.

“I have a question.” You sighed, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence with a different topic of conversation. He grunted in return, giving you all the affirmation you needed to continue. “Why do you hate Ichigo so much? I mean, sure he’s annoying but you like, really hate him.”

Grimmjow’s hand fell into a harsh slap against the marble top as he sat upright and you knew that you’d definitely distracted him, but perhaps not for all of the right reasons.

“He’s fuckin’ cocky, that’s why.” He snarled, “Walks around the place like he’s some tough guy who knows how to fight. But lemme’ tell you somethin,’ Girlie. He ain’t shit.”

You snorted and shot him a look over your shoulder as you slid the rock solid noodles into the boiling pan of water before ripping open the seasoning with your teeth.

“Sounds like a guy I know.” You muttered.

If Grimmjow heard you, it wasn’t obvious. Perhaps it was for the best. Instead, he sat there with a maniacal grin stretched over his face.

“Fucker got lucky last time.” He hissed, “Didn’t count on a player three interruptin’ our damn fight.”

You watched quietly as his thick fingers rose to rest over the junction between his throat and shoulder which he kneaded stiffly whilst rotating said shoulder, where an ugly scar stretched in a white mass of sinewy spider webbed flesh. Your brow rose as you tapped your wooden spoon against the side of the pan before resting it on a plate and turned the heat down to allow the noodles to simmer. You moved towards him curiously as you eyed the scar.

Too preoccupied with sliding up next to him closely to examine the marred flesh, you didn’t notice the way his eyes were already intently focused on you, watching you with keen interest.

“Does it hurt?” You asked quietly, fingers raising slightly an inch away from it before your remembered yourself and went to pull away. You let out a quiet eep! When he caught your wrist before your hand could retreat. You were fully aware of the way his chest was heaving, his pupils were dilated, his breaths were escaping his nose in short, sharp gusts. You were aware of just how handsome he was up close, all sharp, masculine lines and ruggedly sculpted beneath a shock of turquoise hair. You swallowed thickly when his calloused hand slid up your wrist and over the back of your hand, rough like sandpaper as it went, and laced his thick fingers in between your own slender ones, stretching them apart almost painfully.

Such a small gesture shouldn’t have made your heart race, or your cheeks heat, or your skin where he touched tingle. But that paired with the unspoken heat in his eyes as he looked at you had your knees shaking. Damn this ex-Arrancar and his sexual magnetism.

“No, girlie.” He rasped out in a low growl, lifting your hand gently to press against the flesh, “Doesn’t hurt.”

You hummed out quietly to try and hide the gasp as the pads of your finger tips met the hot flesh, a different texture altogether from the rest of his skin. It was eerily smooth. Shiny and white and raised slightly in comparison to the light tan of the expanse of peachy flesh that covered the rest of him. You didn’t realise how close he was until your thumb brushed against his collar bone and you could feel his hot breath against your own slightly parted lips.

You were sure if you saw your expression in a mirror in that moment you would look pitiful, your rounded eyes pleading and glazed over as they studied the contours of his face and got lost in the depths of those turquoise pools. He was captivating, enchanting, entirely mesmerising. Too beautiful to be real. And your toes curled in your socks at the prospect that he wanted you. Time seemed to stop as you felt his other arm slither around your waist and cradle you close to him, unintentionally bowing you into him slightly.

“Grimmjow…” You whimpered out. Stop. You wanted to say. You wanted to pull away from him and hide in your room, talk some sense into yourself and remind yourself of why exactly you couldn’t give in to your basest desire that urged you to give yourself in to him.

Your knees buckled slightly and he used this as the perfect opportunity to hold you even tighter against him, until your toes barely touched the ground and you felt yourself swoon at just how strong he was. The Arrancar’s tongue ran across his bottom lip as his hooded eyes darted to your inviting mouth, a low grumble erupting from his chest which resembled something eerily similar to a… purr?

“Yeah…” He drawled out huskily, nose bumping against your cheek in a strangely gentle nuzzle.

You squeaked when the moment came to an end at the sound of the pan bubbling over, water sizzling against the heat at the base of the hob. You broke from his grip to rescue your dinner, cursing under your breath as you lifted the lid to calm the water to a slow simmer before you could worked to pour it into the bowl on top of the counter.

Unbeknownst to you, Grimmjow groaned in frustration and nestled his head in his folded arms, still navigating his way around the ridiculous rules and regulations of the world of the living, the custom and strange ways of expression. But most vexingly, the way his cock would be rock hard at any given moment when you so much as touched him.  

Chapter Text

Coming home to Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was almost the same as coming home to a badly behaved pet or unwanted relative. First, there was the crippling anxiety that you’d return after College to find your apartment up in flames. Then, there were the intrusive thoughts of aforementioned Sexta Espada leaving and getting himself locked up after starting one too many fights. Third, you constantly questioned yourself in wondering if you were allowing him too much freedom.

The last had you humming to yourself with furiously knit together brows as you hopped off the tram closest to your block and began the five minute walk home. Your car was in the garage and you were praying to every god that would listen that your turbo hadn’t finally exploded. Something about the worrying amount of smoke chugging out of the thing told you otherwise though. Your bank balance couldn’t handle it. Not after spending a small fortune on the ex-Arrancar’s fancy new wardrobe. The guy had expensive taste too.

Bougie bastard.

You released a small sigh of defeat and pulled your satchel strap further over your shoulder. Looks like you’d have to think about getting a job, you knew it was only a matter of time and your pride wouldn’t allow you to go crawling back to your dad. You’d have a lot of grovelling to do after practically going MIA for the past year. Your heartbeat raced for the third time that week of leaving the Espada on his own, your apartment coming into sight from around the block and after your thoughts began to spiral when a pair of kids sprinted past, you visibly relaxed. All seemed to be suspiciously mundane.

You practically vaulted up the steps and sprung into your apartment after shoving the key in the lock only to be met with…

Nothing.

“Grimmjow, I’m back.” You called out over your shoulder, slipping your sneakers off and throwing your satchel over the coat hanger by the door. Something was amiss. It was too quiet. You raised a brow and trudged through the open plan kitchen and living area. “Grimmjow?”

You listened intently, but there was still nothing. It suddenly dawned on you that the window, much to your horror was pushed way open and you began to panic.

Had he left? Why would he leave? He’d gotten so good at staying and waiting for you all day. You ran a hand down your face and grabbed the phone from the side, but before you had a chance to dial Urahara or even animal control, you heard a sound from the bathroom.

“Grimmjow?” You asked tentatively, shuffling over to the door to knock.

“Ugh, Feel like shit!” Oh, it was him alright. Well, it kind of sounded like him but his voice was strained and raw. Like he’d been screaming all day, which you sincerely hoped he hadn’t. You couldn’t afford another noise complaint from the neighbours. You held back a snort and crossed your arms over your chest.

“Yeah, that’s something you’re gonna have to do on your own.” You drawled. Helping him relieve himself was one thing, but you refused to stand in front of him and explain the mechanics of taking a damn dump.

The door suddenly swung open and you were taken aback by the sight of him. Red in the nose, sniffling slightly and desperately trying to clear his throat.

“The hell is wrong with me? Can’t fuckin’ breathe, and- and the shit that’s comin’ outta here won’t stop!” He croaked out, gesturing to his nose which appeared to be running, nonstop like he said. He sniffled again and you had to bite back a laugh at the poor guy, clearly struggling to understand that he’d be hit with a nasty cold. He scowled. “It’s not fuckin’ funny, girlie. ‘M serious. Feels like I’m fuckin’ dying.”

You rolled your eyes and pulled him out of the bathroom and over to the sofa.

“It’s just a cold. You’ll get over it.” You mused, sitting him down and placing the back of your hand to his forehead which he tried to flinch away from but you tutted and held him still with your other. You hummed and he blinked at you from tired eyes.

“What? What is it?” He asked, voice raspy and raw before he erupted into a fit of hacks and coughs.

“Yeah, you’re ill alright. You’ve got a hell of a fever.” You observed. He wasn’t just hot, he was burning. Perhaps he’d caught the flu when you’d gone out the other day. Which was an interesting train of thought actually, did Arrancar even have an immune system? You’d never stopped to think if they even had the ability to become ill. Was he particularly susceptible as a human because of it? He slapped your hand away when you grabbed a tissue and tried to wipe his nose with a snarl.

“Oi, back off. Don’t touch that shit.” He snapped and you huffed out a laugh, reaching over again.

“Grimmjow, you need to wipe your nose or it’ll keep coming.” You stated and he relented with a begrudging grumble.

Explaining sickness to an otherworldly entity wasn’t easy, especially when he threw a fit when you told him he’d probably feel like shit for a good few days or even a week at a push. Still, he settled down when you offered to heat up a can of soup and put a movie on for him.

“This sucks ass. You humans are fuckin’ weak, you know that?” He spat, arms crossed like a child as you searched through the kitchen cabinets for a can of ol’ reliable chicken soup.

“Yeah, well I’m not the one dripping all over the place so pipe down, tough guy.” You remarked with a laugh but frowned when you realised you must have emptied your emergency supply of tinned goods after the end of the previous semester when money was tight and your couldn’t afford groceries.

“What?” He asked when you growled in ire. You turned after closing the cabinet and huffed in defeat.

“I need to head out for a bit. We’re out of soup.” You grumbled and he groaned, tipping his head of turquoise locks back against the sofa as if you’d just told him he had a week to live. You rolled your eyes and grabbed your keys. “I won’t be long. There’s a convenience store just down the road, try and blow your nose in the meantime. I don’t want your bodily fluids all over my furniture.”

“Wait, can’t we just get more of that pizz-uh stuff?”

You turned and gave him a pointed look.

“Alright, let me explain to you how this world works, Arrancar.” You drawled, holding a finger up. “In this world, you need money to buy things. Something I’m severely lacking in. I’ve already spent most of this semester’s budget buying you fancy pants and all the pizz-uh I could eat in a year. Plus, my car’s in the garage and I’m one broken turbo away from selling myself on a street corner. Or you, actually. Then you can have all the pizza you want.”

He blinked owlishly, looking at you like you’d grown too heads.

“The fuck’s a car?” He muttered under his breath and you groaned, pinching your temples. It was like looking after a toddler. A giant, foul mouthed toddler.

“The things you watch on TV go boom. The high speed car chases?” You answered dryly. You resisted the urge to laugh when you watched the recognition flash in his eyes briefly before he stood, pulling the blanket you’d wrapped around him off his shoulders.

“I’m comin’ too. Gonna lose my damn mind if I have to stay in this shithole for another second.”

Rude. You thought but ultimately let that one slide.

You kept him close to you despite being somewhat embarrassed to be seen with him. You, still in your cheer uniform and the big guy in sweats and a tank top that read Follow your dreams with a grainy print of Freddy Krueger behind the text. He had no idea what it meant, but you were pretty sure he only liked it because of the antagonist’s glove with the blades. You shuddered thinking of how you both must look. Plus, he’d tucked his sweats into his socks and hastily shoved his feet into a pair of sandals. Socks and sandals.

Literally, the pits.

“Right, so what did we agree on?” You asked, hand on your hip as you stood in front of the store.

“No fights. No trash talk. No wandering off.” He grumbled out and you nodded.

“Very good.” You hummed before the automatic door slid open and you watched him out the corner of your eye, scowling at every person who ducked out of his way with nervous looks of their own. Even looking ridiculous, he was apparently still intimidating. You walked with purpose to the tinned goods aisle in the middle of the store, while Grimmjow made kept himself entertained by perusing the rentable VHS tapes at the back of the store. You could still see him which was good, you didn’t want to risk him doing anything that could get either of you arrested or banned for life. You scanned over the soup and tutted in irritation when you realised they were charging nearly double the amount as the bigger supermarket you usually frequented but resigned yourself to the fact that you’d promised your wayward Espada soup and a movie. Maybe you’d even treat him with a tub of ice cream.

“Hey.” You jolted upright and turned, seeing a group of guys just… standing there. They were about your age, maybe a bit older? All in hoods and trying to look tough. You blinked back at them in confusion before sliding a few cans of soup into your basket.

“Uh… Can I help you?” You asked, perhaps a bit prickly considering you were meant to be keeping an eye on Grimmjow, who you now had your back to and was probably ripping the film out of the tapes in some kind of sickness induced manic rage or something. The one leaning against the shelves looked you up and down, eyes sending a chilly path of disgust through you as they went.

“Dunno, can you? What d’you guys think?” He sneered. The one in the middle gave his friend to the right, a bespeckled thing with a goatee that was desperately trying to grow out despite apparently not having enough testosterone to do so.

“Yeah, I think she can.”

Your face fell when you realised what was happening, that you were now being hit on in an overpriced convenience store whilst perusing soup for your grouchy and ill Espada which would ultimately break your bank account. The one on the right moved forward, leaning over you with a shit eating grin.

“Whadd’ya say, baby? Do a little cheer routine for us?” He purred and you ducked out of range of his underarm, which was reeking of BO. You tutted and turned, deciding they weren’t worth the effort, but you winced as you slammed face first into something hard and practically trembling with murderous rage. You looked up to see your very own ex-Arrancar, in all of his turquoise fury glowering at them like a shark that had just caught a whiff of fresh blood.

“Grimmjow-“

“Wha’dda these shit sticks want, girlie?” He growled out and you looked over your shoulder to find the three of the bastards frozen in fear, wide eyed and looking to each other before the one at the front cleared his throat quietly and made the worst move possible.

“Ha, you guys look. She’s got a bodyguard or somethin.’ This guy- he’s… He’s wearin’ socks and sandals. Ain’t that lame?” He choked out and the others took a step back, leaving him to fend for himself as Grimmjow’s hand fell heavy on your shoulder before pushing your aside despite your feeble protests.

“Grimmjow, wait. They’re not worth it- Let’s just-“

“The fuck d’you just say to me, ya little runt?” He seethed out, said sandal squeaking dumbly against the laminate flooring as if to further prove a point. It would be hilarious if the Espada didn’t look like he was about to lunge like a feral beast. And apparently that was all it took. The kid turned, stumbling into his friends and all three of them made a hasty escape, but not without hurling abuse over their shoulders to soften the blow to their fragile egos. The turquoise haired Arrancar snarled out but to your surprise, turned back and slid a video into the basket with a huff.

You blinked up at him in surprise, lips pursed as you fully prepared for him to lose all restraint and chase after them. He scowled down at you.

“What?” He snapped and you shook your head in disbelief.

“Nothing. I just… I half expected you to go for the jugular. Draw some blood or something and, well- you didn’t.” You muttered to which he released an irritated grunt.

“Seriously? I feel like shit, those bastards are fuckin’ lucky, I tell ya.” He grumbled before grabbing a bag of chips off the shelves opposite and sliding them in when he thought you were too distracted by looking over your shoulder at where the three low lives took off. He ran a muscular hand through his hair when you turned back inconspicuously and scoffed. “’sides, you said not to cause a scene or some shit.”

Then he stalked back down the aisle to peruse through the videos again which was lucky really, because a small smile twitched gently at your lips at how, against all of his violent urges- those which he’d been fundamentally created for, he’d actually resisted them. For you.

Despite the basket filling up quickly no thanks to Grimmjow’s best efforts to impoverish you, you didn’t say anything at the checkout. The guy behind the register scanned everything at lightning speed, scared eyes flitting up occasionally to the giant wall of muscle behind you who crossed his arms and tapped his feet impatiently with a teal glower that practically glowed ominously from the shadows cast on his sharp features from the dim convenience store light.

You walked back to the apartment, plastic bag full of absolute garbage hanging from your wrist as you barked out a laugh.

“That was hilarious. I think one of them might have actually pissed themselves.” You snorted and the Arrancar beside you seethed out a vicious laugh of his own.

“Ha, I’ve made grown ass men cry before, that was fuckin’ child’s play.” He grinned, before lifting the VHS tape up to show you the film he’d chosen from the store. It was, in fact Child’s Play. You scoffed out a laugh and shoved his arm slightly. Since when was Grimmjow this funny? At the start, you’d been entirely against this whole thing but as the weeks passed, you’d actually found yourself kind of enjoying his company?

“You’re ridiculous.” You cackled out, pulling a strawberry Twizzler- potentially? Out of it’s packet from inside the bag and pulling at it with your teeth. You missed the way he looked at you, sharp and fiendishly delighted eyes softening slightly from your peripheral as he cleared his throat.

“So this car thing you were yappin’ on about- You do that shit with it? Like on the TV thing?” He muttered out and you turned to give him an unimpressed looked as you walked side by side.

“Absolutely not. Those shows are purely for entertainment value. I can guarantee that ninety percent of people do not drive like that. Although I haven’t checked the recent road misconduct statistics.” You drawled and offered him a twizzler which he eyed suspiciously before catching it between his teeth and tearing it from your fingers like a wild animal. You laughed.

“So what? You just have this thing that costs money or whatever? Why’d you keep it?” He mumbled out between his chewing. You shrugged.

“Not sure. Truthfully, I don’t really use it. The good thing about living in Japan is there’s public transport like, everywhere. I guess it was always something my mom told me to do. Thought it would be good for me.”

“Doesn’t make any fuckin’ sense to me if you’re always spending money on it.” He grumbled and you shot him a pointed look.

“As if you can talk. I’m spending all my money on you now.” You scoffed and he gave you a shit eating grin.

“Sounds fuckin’ worth it to me, girlie.” He purred and you shook your head with a smile, unable to help the fluttering in your chest. The others could say what they wanted about Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez but he was damn persuasive when he wanted to be. And maybe just a little bit charming. Half the time, you weren’t even sure he knew he was doing it. If he was any other guy, homicidal Arrancar from Hueco Mundo with an obsessive proclivity for violence towards your brother aside, you’d even entertain the idea that he was giving off some serious flirty vibes. But considering he didn’t even know what a vagina was, you’d say that was wishful thinking. Not that you should even be thinking about it when he had the worldly experience of an infant.

“You know, there’s a word in the human world for people like you.” You drawled, tearing another twizzler in half, which at this rate would be all gone by the time you got back to the apartment. He sneered down at you, pulling a tissue from the pocket of his sweats to wipe at his sniffly nose.

“A king? The fuckin’ best guy you’ve ever met? Damn good lookin?'”

“No. A damn gold digger.” You snapped and hastened your walking speed to which he spluttered with a furrowing of his brow and picked up the pace to keep up with you.

“Oi, I dunno what that fuckin’ means but it sounded like a damn insult!”

 You snuck glances at him over your shoulder as you stirred his soup in the pan, he practically collapsed on the sofa when you got back, and that’s where he stayed since. Groaning and whining from under the blankets. You wanted to roll your eyes, tell him he was being a big baby. But considering it was the first time he’d ever been ill, you thought he’d honestly be worse.

“Alright, you want me to put the video in?” You asked when you’d poured his now warmed up soup in a bowl and handed it to him.

“Ow, this shit’s fuckin’ hot.” He hissed when he completely ignored the spoon sloshing about and went to slurp down the entire lot in one. You tutted and gave him a moronic, backwards glance as you inserted the VHS tape into the video player before standing and perching on the sofa at the opposite end with the remote.

“Eat it slowly, it’s hot so it’ll help open your sinuses.” You drawled, leaning back against the armrest as you got comfy for the film, now showered and in sweats of your own. He gave you an incredulous look, one of the fuck did you just say? But you played the film and watched as the trailers rolled. You’d already switched all the lights off and thrown the bag of Grimmjow’s ill begotten gains on the coffee table, what you didn’t stop to think about was how you actually were a complete pussy when it came to horror films.

Grimmjow watched the film intently, crouched over his knees as he sniffled, turquoise eyes following every sight and sound on the TV which flickered back into the darkness of the room. He laughed at the jump scares and gory bits, scoffed and pointed out parts that, in his words, weren’t realistic at all. Meanwhile, you hid behind a scatter cushion, jumping and whimpering at all the scary bits to the point where he was throwing you annoyed glances out of the corner of his eye, rolling them when you squeaked and squawked in time with the terrifying music. You trembled, peeking over the cushion when you thought it was safe, only for that damn doll to appear once more brandishing a knife and you nearly had heart palpitations.

“For fuck’s sake, c’mere!” He snapped and grabbed your ankle, pulling you over and causing you to fling the cushion across the room with a scream. He hissed when you struggled against him but you stopped with a confused look pinching at your face when he placed you on his lap and tucked the pair of you beneath the blanket. He tutted, breath hot against your ear as he shifted beneath your ass. “There? Happy now?”

Well, I’m not scared of the freaky little doll anymore. You thought disdainfully, only thinking of the fact that those strong hands of his hand lifted you and placed you in his lap like you weighed next to nothing. No, the terrifying film was practically background noise for your wicked thoughts. And at the epicentre was the Sexta Espada himself, the hulking wall of muscle with his meaty, veiny arms wrapped around your waist which felt tiny in comparison. In the corner of the sofa, an island unto yourself, you were safe. Here, in his lap, all you could think of was how great it felt to let him hold you. How warm and firm he was, how right his arms felt around you, his chin resting on your shoulder. How easily he'd wriggled his violent self beneath your skin and into your life, like a blood sucking parasite.

Christ, you were down bad.

It didn’t help how you could feel everything he was packing down below. You knew he was well endowed, you’d held the damn thing yourself when you’d had to give him lessons on the basic bodily functions. But the feel of it stirring to life against your ass each time you jumped and covered your eyes with your hands had your cheeks growing hot and a familiar heat growing between your legs. Like your own body was betraying you. Traitor. You thought.

Finally, the film ended. You wished you could relax but you kept your eyes squeezed shut and his voice, low and raspy appeared next to your ear.

“Oi, you alright, girlie?” He breathed out and you pursed your lips, unsure whether it was the film that had scared you the most or the fact he was rock hard against you. He tutted and released his hold on you. You cleared your throat and plopped down beside him, still sharing the blanket. But it was when your eyes met his- furious and glowing turquoise that you suddenly felt nervous. Despite the lethal weapon he was concealing in his sweats loaded and ready for fire, there was something almost tender in the way his eyes glided over your face softly, like appraising a perfect piece of art. It looked strange on someone who was built to only feel love for killing. But it had your heart hammering in your chest nonetheless.

He took a deep inhale and leaned back, arm freeing from the blanket before sliding over the top of the sofa and you rolled your eyes when you realised what he was doing.

“So uh… That doll thing kinda reminded me of you, y’know?” He purred out.

You scowled at him from the corner of your eye, feeling the fragile moment you’d briefly shared crash and burn into venomous pit of snakes and erupt into absolute infernal carnage like one of his favourite TV shows.

“Is that so?” You drawled, crossing your arms over your chest and eyeing him with distaste. He chuckled and rubbed his other hand down his mouth and along the slight bristles of a five o’clock shadow growing along his jaw. Which reminded you that you needed to show him how to shave.

“Yeah, short and scary. Fuckin’ uncanny is what it is.” He muttered and you guffawed, ripping yourself from the blanket and chucking a cushion at his head, watching it bounce off before landing on the floor. His contentment melted into a glower and he picked the cushion up and slammed it back down on the sofa.

“Oi, what was that for?” He spat and you hummed, an amused smile twitching on your lips as you picked up his empty bowl and rounded the sofa to the kitchen to clean up.

“You want to impress a girl? Don’t compare her to a bloodthirsty, vengeful child’s toy from some outdated slasher movie.” You droned out, running the tap and washing the dishes without paying it too much thought.

Little did you know, you’d given the Espada much to think about as he sat there in silence holding his chin and pondering over your words.

Impress a girl, huh?

Chapter Text

The next coming days, the TV became Grimmjow’s own personal lifestyle coach. He was practically glued to the damn thing, eyes flitting across the screen as he consumed one cheesy romance show after the next. They were all ridiculously dramatic, nowhere near as entertaining as his high speed cop chase shows, there was a complete lack of explosions and carnage for his tastes and more often than not he’d end up dozing off.

There was one channel however, that caught his interest one afternoon when you were away doing whatever the hell it was you left to do during the day. In the slutty little costume he’d referred to after accompanying you to the convenience store and accidentally picked up a magazine that had caught his eye. Well, the full frontal nudity had caught his eye. It was something you’d referred to as a porno magazine, before promptly plucking it from his hands and shoving back onto the shelf with pink cheeks and a disapproving frown. You hadn’t been too impressed with his comment about your cheer leader uniform either.

“Dumb fuckin’ name. Slutty sounds better.” He grumbled out when he thought about it and absentmindedly rubbed his head which you’d smacked with a rolled up newspaper.

The channel he’d found was just a broadcast of a guy with a receding hairline sat behind a desk that read When Life Gives You Lemons TV, answering phone calls with total losers with dumb questions like, my neighbour keeps sending me death threats about my dog barking all night. What should I do? Or Help! My ex-wife won’t give me custody of my kids since I slept with my cousin! He was about to switch the channel with a bored yawn but the next caller caught his interest.

“Good luck with your ex-wife, anonymous caller number twelve! And a reminder folks that any life advice on ‘When Life Gives You Lemons TV’ cannot be made liable for any compensations sustained through legal battles in court. Caller number thirteen, what’s your question?” The guy stated, voice loud and obnoxiously forced for the broadcast.

“Yeah, so, I’m like- in love with my roommate and I don’t know what to do about it.” Came the pathetic, desperate voice cracking down the line of a guy Grimmjow was convinced he could absolutely annihilate in a fight. Still, it had his rapt attention. He leaned in, arms resting on his knees completely transfixed as he stared at the screen so hard he thought they might pop out of his head.

“Alright-y caller number thirteen, and have you thought about talking to your roommate about it?” The host asked, dazzling and completely false set of teeth grinning at the camera, eyes unblinking. It was a bit creepy.

“I- yeah. I have but I’m pretty sure she only sees me as a friend. Is there… Do you have any advice on how to take the next step?”

Grimmjow snorted to himself, a condescending chuff of a laugh exhaling from his throat.

“Fuckin’ loser.” He droned with a mocking grin. The host finally blinked, but his face remained stiff, like some kind of humanoid animatronic he’d watched on one of the movie channels. The one where the big fucker had a weird accent and came back to kill some chick called Sar-ah Con-ner. He was glad that one had subtitles, he wouldn’t have been able to understand a damn thing that was going on otherwise.

“I’m surely glad you asked, anonymous caller number thirteen. If I know anything about women- and my certified credentials as a spiritual love guru will prove I do- I know a woman loves nothing more than a feller who can take care of her. I’m talking spending the big bucks on flowers, chocolates, romantic holidays to Barbados. You name it!” His grin tightened eerily, “And if she doesn’t fall for you after all that, then maybe she’ll fall for these top of the range wheels we’ve got going if you decide to enter our lucky draw by the end of the day! That’s right folks, you can be in it with a chance to win it too-just call the number displayed at the bottom of the screen now and get your name in the draw. I’m talkin’ a brand new Honda Civic EK9 with a built in CD player! Pretty neat, hah?”

“I uh, thanks. Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.” The line ended and the host gave a mechanical laugh.

“Well, that was our anonymous caller number thirteen who, hopefully might get lucky after calling in on the show today! Now, onto our next caller-“

The sofa was empty as the Espada’s hulking figure slumped over the landline, leaning back and forth to dial the numbers on the screen into the phone with a determined look on his sharp features before pressing it up to his ear.

“Yeah, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.- The fuck d’you mean how do you spell that, dumbass?!”

.

You plopped next to Mizuho in the cafeteria, slurping on your juice carton before pulling your coursework out of your satchel. The day was dragging, and as much as you were growing to trust the Arrancar in your apartment not to do anything too stupid you really didn’t want to leave him for longer than you needed to.

“So, how’s mystery guy?” She teased with a mouthful of rice and you sent her a dry look before opening your arithmetic’s textbook to where you left it.

“Same as always. Loud, rude and finally learned how to shave.” You drawled, rolling your eyes when she wiggled her brows at you before swallowing her mouthful and sighing.

“You’re so lucky. At least your guy can grow a beard. I’ve been striking out on complete losers lately.” She muttered before an idea popped into her head. “Oh, how about you set me up with one of his friends?”

You bit back a laugh.

“Yeah, I’m not sure his friends are the type you’d wanna be associated with, babe.” You droned and she leaned in closer.

“Ooh, why’s that? Are they like, criminals or something? Big and burly? Oh! Are they part of a biker gang?” She asked, wide brown eyes filled with excitement and you just shook your head with a laugh. Oh, you have no idea.

“Hey, you guys! Listen to this!” Some kid ran over to his friends, sat huddled further down the cafeteria table as they listened in to the radio that was playing. “Some angry guy just won a brand new Honda Civic on that lame ass life advice channel When Life Gives You Lemons? My mom watches it and told me he’d been censored like, a hundred times already. It's on the local news station aha!”

Your brows furrowed as you found yourself leaning in sideways, closer to the hum of the digital radio and your breath caught in your throat.

“The *BEEP* d’ya mean I have to *BEEP*-ing have a *BEEP*-ing driver’s license you *BEEP*-ing moron! I won the *BEEP*-ing thing fair and *BEEP*-ing square! I’ll come down there and kick yer sorry *BEEP*-ing ass!” Apparently Grimmjow was firing off so many profanities, even the censorship couldn’t keep up. You gasped and pushed yourself from the bench and began shoving your things back into your satchel, ignoring Mizuho’s confused protests.

“Wha? Wait, where you going? Last period’s going start in like, ten minutes-!” She cried and you high tailed it from the cafeteria with a furious look on your face. Little did the Espada know that when you got home, you were gonna kick his sorry fucking ass.

“What the hell were you thinking, you idiot!” You exclaimed, pointing at the thing that was parked up to the side of your apartment and was undoubtedly an eyesore. Mustard yellow with black racing stripes. It was like a teenage boy’s wet dream on your doorstep. The Arrancar stood in his sweats and a pair of those infernal sandals he refused to take off, wearing a I <3 Jason sweater with the slasher’s mask printed in the background. You groaned and ran a hand down your face. “Grimmjow, you can’t even drive, what the hell would possess you to enter a prize draw for a damn car-“

“I got it for you, dumbass!” He snapped, arms folded stiffly across his chest as seethed don at you. You blinked incredulously back before looking over his shoulder at the yellow monstrosity that sat there drawing the attention of every kid in a mile radius of where you lived.

“For me?” You asked, cheeks burning as the realisation set in. He’d entered a prize draw on some tacky television broadcast and won a car… For you? The Espada turned and slapped his hand on the bonnet with a frighteningly toothy grin.

“Fuckin’ sweet or what? We should call it somethin’ cool like- like The Chopper or The Terminator or some shit.” He cackled and you grimaced.

“How many of those Arnold Schwarzenegger movies did you watch?” You muttered, wondering if you should be concerned. He swung the door open and slid inside, smacking his head on the roof in the process with a loud curse before resting his hands on the wheel and recovering with another grin.

“Need a ride, baby?” He purred and you scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Oh yeah, real slick, Espada.” You drawled, although you couldn’t lie- Your cheeks were feeling a tad warm. Especially when he looked you up and down in your slutty little costume as he so eloquently put it the other day. You rounded the car and opened the passenger side door, sliding in with less difficulty that your counterpart who turned the wheel and made small explosion noises with a puff of his cheeks. It would be cute if you weren’t so worried he was watching too many violent TV shows.

“So, where you taking me then?” You drawled and the Espada reached into the pockets of his sweats, pulling out a pair of shades which looked suspiciously like your own and pushing them onto his face.

“Come with me if you want to live.” He quoted, but his accent was a tad off, sounding more Australian than Austrian. You snorted and shook your head.

“Alright, well if you’re going to save all of humanity from an artificial intelligence induced apocalypse, then I’d say you should probably have some lunch first.”

Instead of picking up on the sarcasm, Grimmjow groaned and smacked his head back on the headrest.

“No, I’m the one killin’ that Sarah chick.” He snarled and you pursed your lips in an effort to keep from sniggering at him.

“I guess they didn’t air the sequel then.”

You watched him stalking about the apartment, and it never occurred to you how funny he looked in your home. He was comically large and robust. Come to think of it, he was a bit like the Terminator himself, sent on a suicidal mission to eradicate the opposition before the war to end all of humanity. Although Grimmjow couldn’t seem to get the accent right. Instead he just sounded like Crocodile Dundee being choked out with a bungee cord. And Arnie’s famous one liners didn’t seem to land the same way. But it was funny how a few weeks in the human world was enough to turn even Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez into your stereotypical, run of the mill 90’s kid.

“I’d better call up the garage and tell them to scrap my old car, I guess.” You hummed absentmindedly after finishing up the dishes. Grimmjow turned from where he was pulling a bag of chips from the cabinet and threw you an over the shoulder grin.

“Damn right you’d better. Ain’t no girl of mine driving an old cruddy piece of shit.” He stated as if it was the most blaringly obvious thing in the world. You nearly dropped the plate you were drying with a tea towel and opted to staring at him with eyes that were nearly bulging from your skull. What had he just called you?

“I-I- Pardon?” You asked, slack jawed as he tore into the bag and dove his thick hand in, scooping a fistful into his mouth. Damn, the guy could eat.

“What? You think I can’t take care of ya or somethin’?” He growled out with his mouth stuffed full, “Cause’ I got news for ya, girlie. I’m the damn Sexta Espada. You need a car, I’ll get you the best fuckin’ car there is. You want flowers, you say the fuckin’ word and I’ll get them. And chocolates, hah, piece of piss.”

You half wondered if he was having some kind of aneurism. Either that or he was quoting some weird movie you’d never heard of.

“Right…” You drawled, tilting your head at him warily and scanning for potential signs of a life threatening condition. He furrowed his brows back, jaw tightening as he slapped the now empty packet of chips on the counter.

“Oi, what’s that look for?” He snapped before freezing and murmuring something beneath his breath. Something along the lines of huh, maybe it’s working.

He sniffed haughtily and leaned back against the counter, biceps bulging in the tight sleeves of his T-shirt as he curled his fingers around the edge of it and-

Wait- you paused, eyeing him in confusion- Was he flexing?

“Okay, I’m gonna… Go call up the… The thing.” You trailed off, turning on your heel in some kind of trance. Perhaps it was just you, but it felt like Grimmjow was acting weirder than usual. You tried to push it from your mind, again wondering if he saw something on TV. You had no idea what he watched half the time, maybe you’d need to think about getting rid of cable and just plying him with family friendly coming of age movies or something.

You called the garage and ultimately told them to scrap your puny little Nissan Micra. You hadn’t given them much of an explanation, only that you couldn’t afford to replace the turbo. They were pretty decent about it and you left the conversation feeling only mildly unsettled still from your strange encounter with the Espada. Maybe he needed some fresh air. He didn’t get out much and you had half the mind to think it was driving him insane being cooped up for days at a time.

“Grimm-“ You turned, only to find him stood staring at you and in his hand-

“Got these for you.” He grumbled, holding out what looked eerily similar to the flowers in Mrs Tanigawa’s hanging basket on her balcony. You narrowed your eyes.

“Dare I ask where from?” You muttered suspiciously and the Arrancar merely scoffed and shoved them into you, causing you to fumble to catch them before soil went everywhere. You supposed that answered the question you had about where he’d found them.

“Does it fuckin’ matter?” he snapped and you pursed your lips at him in a frown.

“Grimmjow, do I need to do some damage control with the neighbours?” You shook your head, deciding it wasn’t worth riling him up after he was obviously trying his best to… Well, do something. You weren’t exactly sure what. “I thought we could go out, take the uh-“

“The Chopper.”

“-The Chopper for a spin.” You swallowed thickly, hoping that name wouldn’t stick. That perhaps he’d forget about it like he’d thankfully forgotten about constantly trying to walk in while you were changing.  He grinned from ear to ear, an expression that didn’t ease your nerves whatsoever and you looked him up and down with a groan. “You’ve been in those sweats for a week, go and put something else on.”

You decided to drive the car to the park, and Grimmjow was an absolute freak the whole way. Hanging his head out of the window like a dog and embracing the wind through his already wild turquoise hair. You had to tell him four times to put his seatbelt on and to not open the door while you were driving. He kept messing around with the radio, flicking through the stations and overall just being the most obnoxious passenger to ever grace any car you’d driven.

“Hey, just pick one! I’m trying to drive and you’re distracting me!” You snapped and he huffed, settling on what sounded like a heavy metal radio station and you winced. The Arrancar was apparently having the time of his life, cackling when he flipped off a group of kids and their parents in a drive by display of profanity. He was a menace to society, but at least he was contained in a vehicle for now. You were dreading taking him to the park.

“Hey this is pretty good.” He sneered, gesturing a thick finger to the what could only be described as noise coming from the stereo and you just rolled your eyes.

“Death metal? Really? Whatever. I’m not even surprised, actually.” You snorted as you tried to find a parking space near the canal.

Once you’d parked, you watched him fling the door open and nearly bash it into the stationary car to your side and you groaned.

“Just because you won the damn car doesn’t mean you can just destroy it!” You cried and he all but ignored you, instead he cupped a hand over his eyes and shield them from the sun which was especially bright given it was October and the weather forecast had given rain. He trudged up the bank to the canal leading to the park with you in tow and you silently resented yourself for telling him to change. Those ripped jeans left little to the imagination. Hugging his muscular ass in every right way that made you feel like a dirty pervert inside when you were blatantly ogling it in broad daylight.

“Oi, girlie. The fuck is that over there?” He called out and you finally reached the top of the bank to join him, looking over in the direction he was scowling to see a coffee van parked up across from you next to the fountain.

“A coffee van, an expensive one by the looks of it, come on let’s-“

“You think they do like, chocolate ‘n stuff..?” He grumbled out and you raised a brow at him curiously.

“Well, they probably do hot chocolate but- Hey!” He grabbed you before you could protest with a hand fisted around your scarf as he dragged you along behind him.

“Ah, now there’s a good looking couple if I ever saw one!” The vendor beamed from behind a thick moustache as he twirled it expectantly down at you both from where he stood behind the counter. “What can I get you folks today?”

“Hot chocolate. Two.” Grimmjow stated flatly, sliding what looked to be cash onto the counter and the man’s smile widened.

“Coming right up!”

You blinked owlishly at the money the Arrancar had produced seemingly out of thin air before your eyes narrowed at him.

“How did you-“ You shook your head with a frown before crossing your arms. “Grimmjow, did you steal that?”

He gave you a disgruntled look and scoffed back at you, eyes rolling in disbelief.

“Like hell I stole it! I got it from your bag, dumbass. Here. Hold this.” He shoved the change into your chest and you bristled, wracking your brain to remember when he’d even been in your satchel. Or how he didn’t realise that was still technically stealing. You’d truly created a monster.

“You want marshmallows and cream with that?” The vendor called as he filled two Styrofoam cups with hot chocolate.

“Sure. Whatever.” The Arrancar grunted before the man handed him the cups with wiggling brows.

“There you are. Be sensible you two.” He chimed before retreating to the back of the van whistling a merry tune.

“What a fuckin’ weirdo.” Grimmjow snorted before taking the cup of hot chocolate to his lips and sipping. You watched him with a small smile on your face as his eyes widened in surprise at the pleasant flavour. After the iced mocha frappe thing you’d got him the other day, you were starting to think he had a sweet tooth. He hummed in contentment as he turned to walk away from the van but you caught his arm with a stifled laugh at the foamy cream moustache he was sporting.

“Hang on, you’ve got a bit of… Aha. There you go.” You smiled as you wiped the residue from his top lip with your thumb and he watched you curiously the whole time. Your cheeks burned suddenly when he turned his head and licked the cream from your digit with a vicious grin, eyes remaining on you the whole time.

“Mmm, taste’s good.” He purred and you snatched your hand away as if scalded. You cleared your throat and took a sip of your own hot beverage, content with walking together through the park as you tried to imagine anything but Grimmjow’s unnaturally long tongue licking you. – Your finger. Licking your finger. Of course.

“Those things are fucking annoying.” He growled, picking up a stone and pelting it at the ducks that quaked in the canal and you gasped, jumping and grabbing his hand before he threw another. You grimaced when an older couple sent you disgusted looks from the bench beside the one the pair of you were currently perched on.

“Haha, sorry. He forgot to take his medication.” You said casually and they scooted to the furthest side of their bench uncomfortably. You turned to the Espada with a warning look, making him immediately drop the next stone he was about to throw at the poor birds. “Grimmjow, I’ll be so impressed if we manage to make it home today without you getting us arrested.”

It was sort of a figure of speech, so why did he look so interested in that?

“Really?” He asked, completely serious. You gave him a side eye before turning to look across the canal, bringing your hot chocolate up to your lips to take another sip. You sat in silence for a while before Grimmjow inevitably broke it and you sighed when you could hear him about to speak.

“The hell do people do this shit for. It’s so boring.” He muttered gruffly and you rolled your eyes.

“To relax? Not everyone’s itching for a fight all the time like you, you know.” You drawled and he grinned at that, leaning back against the bench where he snuck an arm over the top behind you when he thought he was being sneaky.

“Not my fault I’m damn good at what I do.” He sneered and you sighed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear before absentmindedly fumbling with your earring.

“Grimmjow, how does one become an Arrancar? I’m curious.” You asked tentatively and he gave you a wary look.

“Why? You thinkin’ about switching sides of some shit?” He asked with a sly grin and you huffed out a laugh before shoving against him. Although, you didn’t actually move away afterwards. Just stayed there with your arm pressed against his side. He was so warm.

“No, I just wondered how you came to be… Well, you.” You muttered, resisting the urge to lean your head against his shoulder. Was this technically a date? It felt like a date. The Espada hummed, a sound that rumbled through his chest like a car engine.

“I’ve no fuckin’ idea, to be honest. We just kinda are. An Arrancar becomes an Arrancar by removing its hollow mask one way or another. And then be just… evolve. Heard Aizen talkin’ about a Hogyoku once. Figured that’s how we became Espada. Me ‘n the rest.” He spoke and you turned slightly, seeing a vacant look in his eyes. You frowned.

“Do you miss it?” You asked softly, not wanting to push him into a conversation he didn’t want to have. He huffed out a sarcastic snort.

“Miss what? Shovelling shit for that fucker? No. Couldn’t stand him.” He stated, eyes hardening as he watched another duck descend into the canal with a flapping off its wings before landing on the water. You pursed your lips and nodded slowly. Would this be the time to probe him for information?

Instead, you stayed quiet. You didn’t want to think about anything to do with the Soul Society right now, or what they had planned for the Arrancar beside you.

“How ‘bout you?” He asked in a grumble and your eyes were on him again, not realising you’d cosied up to him so much until your chin grazed the fuzzy sheep wool collar of the dark wash denim jacket you’d bought him.

“What about me?”

“How’d you… Y’know? I’m guessin’ it’s not the same for humans.” He muttered and you bit back another laugh.

“I don’t think the park is the right place for the talk.” You drawled and he hummed, to your surprise leaning his cheek against the crown of your head. It was nice, like when he’d held onto you after you’d made the mistake of renting Child’s Play the other night and he’d rested his chin against your shoulder. It felt oddly domestic. You swallowed your pride and cleared your throat. “Well, when a man loves a woman very much, they get together and they have a baby. To do that, they need to have…”

“Sex.” He stated, and you looked over to see the same elderly couple staring at you both and whispering under their breath. You forced a laugh.

“We’ve seriously got to find your medication.” You stated, loud enough to hopefully throw them off. Judging by the sound of hastily retreating footsteps, you guessed it worked. You sighed in relief and turned to Grimmjow with pursed lips.

“Yes. Exactly. My mom met my dad, had sex and now here I am.” You fought the urge to throw up at the thought. Isshin Kurosaki wasn’t exactly a catch, maybe your mother was having a manic episode when she decided to tether herself to him for life. The turquoise haired Espada turned, teal eyes looking you up and down before downing the rest of his hot chocolate in one gulp. You were ashamed that even watching the apple of his throat bob up and down was erotic. He smacked his lips together before grunting.

“They did a damn good job making you.” He muttered stiffly and you turned to look at him again, lips parting to retaliate with something scathing when you realised he wasn’t, in fact, being sarcastic. In fact, he was already looking at you with those eyes that were dangerously soft. Your own dropped to his lips- sharp and outlined by the shadow of the facial hair he’d started shaving yet entirely too tempting. You gave him a smile and turned back to face the park, trying to calm your heart which was beating erratically.

“Thanks. You’re uh… Well evolved too, I guess.” You hummed and watched him grin triumphantly from the corner of your eye.

After sitting for a bit longer, you took his sleeve and pulled him up to walk with you along the canal. Listening to the sound of water along with the profanities he yelled when a kid whizzed past him on a scooter and nearly knocked him on his ass. It was nice though, you were having a lovely time with him. The more time passed, the more you realised that he was a world away from the violent, angry Espada that had been thrust into your care all those weeks ago.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

You turned to see none other than your brother pulling a look of complete disgust at your hand which snatched away from Grimmjow’s the moment you realised you’d been absentmindedly holding it, your two confused looking little sisters and…

“My beautiful daughter, where have you been?!”

You groaned.  

Chapter Text

You grit your teeth as your father fell at your feet in tears, attracting the unwanted attention of the general public who shuffled by with hushed whispers and worried stares. Your two younger sisters, Karin and Yuzu exchanging concerned looks and Grimmjow just looking bored out of his mind.

“Why haven’t you returned my calls?! I thought- I thought something truly abominable must have happened-“ He sobbed, hands wrapped around your leg as you tried your best to shake him off. You scoffed, the old man clung to you like a limpet and your cheeks flushed at how much he was causing a scene. Making even Grimmjow look like the perfect, model citizen.

“H-Hey! Get up and stop acting like a baby! Ugh- This is why I haven’t answered your calls, you’re- shit- you’re too much!” You squawked, managing to finally pull your leg free and he just knelt there, staring up at you with teary eyes and a wobbly lip.

“You-You mean you’ve been ignoring your poor father?” He sniffling, wiping his face with his sleeve as he hiccupped out pitiful sobs. “Masaki, are you hearing this? Our precious daughter can’t bear the thought of being seen with me-“

He held a hand to his chest as if it was about to shatter into pieces, face falling into a sombre expression as he swallowed thickly.

“There’s no other way. I suppose Seppuku is my only option now.” He sighed forlornly and you blinked in disbelief down at him, exchanging an incredulous look with your brother who only shrugged boredly. You grabbed your crestfallen father with both hands and pulled him to his feet, a bit too roughly for polite society.

“Are you crazy? Stop acting like an idiot and maybe I’ll maybe I’ll be able to stomach being seen in public with you again! Plus I’ve been… I’ve been busy alright?” You felt your cheeks flushed when your old dad’s calculating gaze fell on the towering wall of muscle at your side, analysing him closely and you could see the cogs in his mind turning, much to your dismay.  

“I see.” He rubbed the stubble on his chin deep in thought before frowning and pointing a thick finger at Grimmjow who only turned to look at him with a confused hah? hands shoved deep in the pockets of his denim jacket. “And what makes you think you’re good enough for my daughter, young man? Oh, I can’t believe this. Masaki, give me strength. Our little girl is having pre-martial relations without my consent- agh!”

You grabbed him by the scruff of his turtleneck and dragged him off to one side, exchanging harsh whispers away from Grimmjow’s earshot. He merely grunted at the guy, who he guessed was this dad thing you were going on about and turned when he felt a tug at the bottom of his jacket to see the worried look of a kid with a blonde head of hair.

“Excuse me sir, are you Y/N’s boyfriend?” She asked hesitantly before Kurosaki snatched her away with a muttered curse.

“Yuzu, don’t do that. He’s- He’s Y/N’s classmate.” He stuttered out and the other kid just gave the ex-Arrancar a bored look.

“Yeah, we’re kids but we’re not stupid, Ichigo.” She droned and rolled her eyes. Grimmjow bared his grinding teeth at the Shinigami.

“Oi, what if I am her boyfriend? You got a damn problem with that, Kurosaki?” He snarled before sniffing his nose and turning his head. “Whatever. You ain’t fuckin’ worth it anyways.”

I’ll be so impressed if we manage to make it home today without you getting us arrested. Came your voice in his mind, but in a whispered purr like some kind of tempting promise from an unholy seductress. Like in those movies where the hot chick always fell for the hero and used her fine body to tempt him away from the plot or some shit. Which is how he usually re-imagined your interactions. The soul reaper’s jaw fell open, and not by the Arrancar’s offensive language which caused Yuzu to gasp and cover her ears, and Karin to grin ear to ear in quiet intrigue. You exhaled slowly in defeat as you returned to Grimmjow’s side.

“Slight change of plan. We’re going to dinner. With, uh… My family.” You gestured to the group, your father looking entirely too pleased with himself as he practically skipped back over, doing a complete 180 from the guy who was on the verge of jumping off the nearest building a moment ago. Grimmjow’s turquoise brows knit together as he looked from you, to your outstretched hand and to the group.

“Wha? Family?” He grit out and you groaned, massaging your temples as the Arrancar still seemed to struggle with the concept. This was it, the big reveal you supposed. Which was probably going to go down as well as you expected.

“My dad-“ You pointed and your father crossed his arms with a firm nod and satisfied smile. Then, to the kids, both staring at the Arrancar with mixed looks of concern and intrigue.

“My sisters, Karin and Yuzu.” The blonde gave a hesitant wave and the other just rolled her eyes like a damn brat and shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket. Then to the strawberry blonde who only frowned and narrowed his eyes back at him.

“And uh, you’ve met Ichigo.” You swallowed thickly, “My brother.”

 You mumbled the last part under your breath but judging by the way Grimmjow’s expression gradually twisted into pure thunder, you assumed he’d heard. Well, there goes your squeaky clean criminal record. You didn’t know how you were going to hold up in court as the accomplice of a guy who strangled someone with their own tennis jacket.

“Your fuckin’ what?!”

.

Okay, so you were actually pleasantly surprised.

Sure, he became quite… colourful with his language and also finger gestures. He yelled and pulled at his hair and threw several insulting phrases your brother’s way who’d had to cover Yuzu’s ears with his hands. But after about ten minutes of letting it all out in the most mature way you’d seen him handle anything really, he simmered down to an angry sulk whilst you walked with your family to the closest barbeque place down the street. You spared him a look, finding him pouting angrily with his arms crossed over his chest.

“How you holding up there, big guy?” You asked tentatively and he gave you a scowl before averting his eyes once more to the sidewalk ahead.

“Can’t believe you didn’t think to fuckin’ tell me that bastard was related to you.” He grumbled out and you rolled your eyes.

“It doesn’t really change anything. Plus, it’s not like we even get along. Before you, I hadn’t talked to him for like, three years.” You sniffed and this caught his attention. He raised an inquisitive teal brow in your direction.

“Why not?” He muttered and you shrugged, offering him a wry smile.

“Because he’s a moron.” That turned his frown upside down. Your brother scowled over his shoulder at the pair of you.

“You know I can hear you, right?” He snapped and you stifled a laugh, which couldn’t be said the same for Grimmjow who hissed out seething cackles as he grinned maliciously at your brother.

With Grimmjow’s much improved mood, along with your own after successfully getting under your little brother’s skin, immature as that may be, you all walked to the barbeque joint relatively peacefully. Like one big, dysfunctional family. It was strange, you usually put familial obligations on the back burner, dreading time with your dad and your brother. Your little sisters were tolerable at best. But with Grimmjow there as some kind of giant meat shield, you were finding it a bit easier.

“So, Grimmjow is it?” Your dad probed, watching as the big guy ordered a family sharing platter all for himself when the waiter came over and hastily scribbled down his order, struggling to keep up when he barked about having double of everything. “That’s an… Unusual name. Where did you say you were from?”

He didn’t. You turned to Grimmjow when he scowled and crossed his arms over the chest after the waiter tucked tail and ran back to the kitchen and you watched his mouth open in mild horror.

“Las-“

“Vegas. He’s from Las Vegas. Foreign exchange student but I’m uh,” You scratched your cheek as your family’s eyes fell on you. You cursed your little brother who sat back with a malicious smirk and was fully prepared to watch you crash and burn in comfortable silence. “I’m teaching him about Japan and our… Customs.”

Your father held his chin and leaned in with narrowed eyes.

“Really? Fascinating.” He hummed, intrigued. He slapped his hands on his knees and leaned back in the booth with a proud grin. “Not that I’m surprised my little pumpkin’s showing you the ropes. She’s always been the caring type. Takes after her mother!”

Grimmjow, Karin and Ichigo all snorted in unison and you took turns in glowering at each of them.

“What’s it like? Las Vegas?” Yuzu asked, shuffling forward in her seat with small hands clasped together as she stared at him in awe. Grimmjow shot you a look which you returned with one of quiet warning and he finished sucking on the straw of his pint of strawberry ice cream sundae milkshake with a nervous cough.

“It’s uh- It’s pretty intense. Everyone’s tryin’a kill each other all the damn time, tryin’a prove themselves as the best.” You narrowed your eyes further at him, trying to silently command him to tone it down a bit and he blinked back. “And there’s like, no cable TV or whatever.”

Yuzu and your father gasped, the first holding a small hand over her mouth in shock and Karin hummed with crossed arms.

“Huh. Not too different from the movies then.” She quietly mused to herself.

“It sounds practically medieval over there.” Your father muttered with wide, owlish eyes. He shook his head and gave Grimmjow a reassuring thumbs up with a beaming smile. “Don’t you worry, my boy. You’re in the Land of the Rising Sun now. We’ve got all the cable TV you can stomach, right Ichigo?”

Your brother grunted, clearly not wanting any part in the conversation what so ever. You kicked him under the table and he sent you a scowl which you chose to ignore and smiled sweetly at Grimmjow.

“So, what’s your favourite thing about Japan, Grimmjow?” Your father asked again and you absentmindedly sipped on your peach iced tea, happy that the conversation was taking a safer direction. The worst he could say was something mildly offensive, and nothing that would shatter the fragile minds of your very human family.

“Dunno. Probably Y/N.” He droned boredly, mouth dipping to capture his straw once again.

You choked on your drink, along with your brother who stared at the Arrancar like he’d just grown two damn heads sporting full hollow masks. In fact, you did too. You were expecting something along the lines of exploding cars and slasher film marathons on the movie channel or the weird red candy that tastes kinda like rubber. Or even just pizza which he keeps requesting for dinner every day. But… You? Your cheeks burned as you snuck coquettish glances at him.

“That’s…” Your father choked out, sitting beside Yuzu who stared at the Arrancar with a dreamy smile. “-I’m so happy! To think, Masaki, our perfect daughter has found her Prince at last! I fully give you my blessing, son. You’re a part of the family now!”

He said a quiet prayer, probably to your mother and you groaned, rubbing your hand down your face as you turned to your Prince who had completely missed such a revolutionary turning point of the conversation to hold his head with gritted teeth from brain freeze. Ichigo just looked like he was about to throw up.

Dinner went… Surprisingly well. Grimmjow could almost pass as a normal human being, apart from the times he asked the inevitable dumb questions as per usual.

“Oi, the fuck is this shit?”- gesturing to his side salad which you promptly explained to him under your breath only for him to completely forget about anyway in favour of devouring the grilled meat. Or-

“Hey, Girlie. Need a piss, you think this place got those weird fuckin’ wall toilets too?”

When he excused himself with a grunt, you slid out the way and he clambered over you with a curse when he nearly tripped and fell twice before Karin turned to you with an obnoxious look.

“Well, he could be worse.” She drawled and Yuzu tutted beside her.

“Karin, don’t be mean! He’s from America, it’s not his fault!” She reprimanded softly. You bit back the snort that threatened to come out, accompanied with something akin to- no, he’s just a big freak. But you resisted.

“Yeah, he’s uh… Entertaining.” You hummed, playing with the used napkin beside your plate boredly.

“So, must be getting serious.” Came your brother’s dry voice and you shot him a challenging look.

“Oh, yeah.” You mused sarcastically, “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a generous yet passionate lover?”

You watched the chaos unfold from your words, your father and Yuzu collectively gasping, Karin pulling a face, Ichigo’s expression scrunching like he’d just taken a big chunk of wasabi. You cackled quietly under your breath and tapped your fingers on the table as Grimmjow made his appearance known by casting a long and intimidating shadow over the table.

“Well, I guess we’d better get going.” You announced, grabbing your jacket but paused when Grimmjow snatched it from your hands and fumbled to try and put it on you himself. Concerningly obsessive movie consumption aside, he really knew how to impress a girl’s family. You smiled at him in thanks and went to grab your purse but your father clapped his hands over yours as you did.

“No, there’s no need. Let your old dad get this one.” He beamed, wiping a tear from his eyes. You blinked down at him incredulously before looking to Grimmjow who was busy watching a kid in the corner booth throw up with a sadistic grin.

“Really? But this one ate like, half the menu.” You gestured a thumb at the Arrancar. Your dad shook his head and choked out a breathless laugh.

“Absolutely. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that you’ve found a man who-“ Cue Grimmjow hissing out an oi, fuckin’ watch it! At the waiter who bumped into him when trying to run back to the kitchen to place another order. “-A man who treats you right. You’ve found a good one there, don’t let him go.”

Your eyes softened, feeling something well up in your throat at the sadness in your father’s eyes. You could almost see the projection of your mom’s face smiling back. You patted his hand hesitantly, not used to sharing such emotional sentiments with your family. It was the exact thing you feared, the exact thing you tried desperately to distance yourself from and you found yourself turning and silently walking from the restaurant without another word to them.

Don’t think about her. Don’t think about her. Don’t think about her.

You grit your teeth as the tears burned at your eyes, you didn’t even check to see if Grimmjow was following you as you barged the door to the barbeque place open and welcomed the rain which had finally started drizzling from the clouds. Judging by the footsteps, he was. You hoped Ichigo wasn’t with him, you couldn’t bear to think of what was going to happen after tonight when he ultimately informed Urahara and the other Captains about your little excursion with the Arrancar you were supposed to be maintaining a platonic relationship with.

“Grimm-“ You turned, only it wasn’t Grimmjow but some guy you didn’t know. Middle aged if you were to take a guess, maybe in his thirties? Dressed in a camel trench coat and a black turtleneck. His brown hair falling to his shoulders as he stared boredly at you under the illumination of the street light. “Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else.”

You wiped your eyes as he simply watched you for another moment, the young girl behind him remaining quiet. You felt uneasy.

“You uh, you dropped this.” He drawled, holding his hand out which held your purse. You sniffled as you took it and slid it back into your handbag. He was still staring, a pair of lifeless brown eyes that hardly blinked.

“I… Thanks, I guess?” You muttered, turning to the door when it slammed open to see the Sexta Espada himself wiping down the sleeve of his jacket with a scrunched nose as he hissed out profanities under his breath. He turned and stalked down the sidewalk with his hands shoved in his pockets. Only then did you notice the kid at his side who kept glancing back at you with wide, curious eyes. What a weird pair. You thought.

“Oi, one of your fuckin’ kid sisters spilled some shit all down my-“ He stopped talking, turquoise eyes falling on you as he noticed you frozen in place. “Hey, what is it?”

You continued to stare at the now vacant sidewalk when the other two had been in almost a trance but it broke when a heavy hand fell on your shoulder and your attention snapped to Grimmjow, lip curling down at you in annoyance.

“The fuck’s going on with you?” He snapped, brows furrowed. “You’re bein’ weird. And the fuck is this shit?”

He held his hand out, palm facing up as the light patters of wet rain sprayed over his hand. You choked out a laugh and wiped your nose.

“It’s the rain. I’ll explain it in the car.”

Grimmjow- The big feral cat that he was, of course didn’t seem to like the rain. The whole way back to The Chopper, he complained about the cold, wet feel of it against his skin, huffing and taking his jacket off to hold over his head. It was the kind of fine rain that left you drenched after being in it for longer than five minutes and whilst you didn’t worry about it too much, you could hear him grunting and hissing profanities under his breath when cars passed you on the road and sprayed puddles back against his jeans.

When you were back in the car, the exchanges between you were short and few. You explained the weather as best as you could, thinking back to high school classes on the vast water cycle which only left him staring at you in more confusion than he initially had to begin with. You kept quiet, focusing still bleary eyes on the road and the tail lights of other cars that appeared distorted in the rain splattered windscreen.

When you got back, you bumped into Mrs Tanigawa who you exchanged small pleasantries with before excusing yourself and Grimmjow, explaining you’d had a long day. In truth, you just wanted to curl up in bed and cry. She only nodded with a hesitant smile and waved you off from her porch where she cradled a new hanging basket after the last one was ripped of the flowers by what she thought were angry magpies.

Your shoulders sagged in relief when you were back in your safe space, chucking your new shiny car key on the counter and shrugging off your jacket, Grimmjow standing behind you with a look of perplexion as he simply observed you quietly.

He didn’t know what your deal was, but you were acting strange. He thought honestly that he’d done something wrong, but he was wracking his brain trying to think of what. Your family or whatever had seemed alright. Complete losers- But alright. You’d been fine before going out to eat. It was after that you suddenly seemed all rigid and uptight. Was it because of the whole money thing? Your weird dad had offered to pay for the vast amounts of meat he’d consumed and he’d not done anything to pay for it himself. Was what you were so angry about?

He needed to look deeper into this whole money thing.

“Hey, uh- Girlie?” He grunted out and you turned to glance over your shoulder with wide, blinking eyes. Although there was something in them which he couldn’t put his finger on. A pitiful thing which made him frown. He cleared his throat behind his fist. “You uh… Today. You have fun?”

You pursed your lips and furrowed your brow, not entirely sure where he was going with this but you desperately craved above all else was your bed. It wasn’t even that late, but you were emotionally exhausted and just needed to be on your own.

“Of course, why?” You stated, eyeing him suspiciously. The Arrancar rubbed his hand over his sharp jaw and averted his teal eyes for a second, deep in thought.

“D’ya think… Did you like the car and stuff?” He grumbled and your eyes softened. Was that what this was all about? Was he looking to you for validation? You stifled a fond laugh, approaching him and, to his surprise, stretching up on the very tips of your toes to press your lips to his slightly stubbled cheek.

“I did. I’m very impressed you didn’t kill anyone at dinner too.” You teetered before leaning back to give him a smile. It was forced, but it was approval all the same. “I’m gonna go to bed. Do you need me to do anything before I go?”

He snorted and leaned back against the counter with a shit eating grin. Chest puffing out with pride at your words. At how he’d actually managed to impress you, just as he’d initially set out to do. Mission accomplished.

“Yeah, put one o’ those where it counts, woman.” He purred, pointing to his lips and you narrowed your eyes at him. You knew you probably shouldn’t, but you weren’t in your right mind. And he’d been overwhelming sweet to you all day. Perhaps you could pass it off as a poor decision brought on by a complete existential breakdown or something. You approached him, hands coming to lay flat on his chest and he merely stared at you with half lidded eyes and a triumphant smirk to his lips.

You rolled your eyes and went to press a quick kiss to his lips but squeaked when his hand came to the back of your head, strong fingers winding their way through your hair as he forced his mouth hungrily on to yours. It was just like last time, full of ravenous hunger, like an animal on the brink of starvation and it had your knees buckling dangerously. He grunted, leaning in for more. His sharp, stubbled jaw grinding against your soft one, his other arm winding tight around your waist and dragging you against him.

You melted somewhat, emitting a soft sound of your own, especially when he angled his head and you felt him leaning into you until you were nearly bending backwards from his weight.

You broke free with a gasp for air and stared at him with glossy eyes, your heart jack hammering in your chest wildly, your pulse pounding in your ears which felt hot. Breathlessly, you whispered his name and he reluctantly let you go. You stumbled, your legs feeling like jelly. Given his lack of experience, you put it down to pure god given talent to be able to kiss like that. You cleared your throat, cheeks on fire.

“That was… Nice.” You muttered, struggling to look you in the eye before glancing over your shoulder at your room. Despite your mood lifting substantially after what could only be described as the second best kiss of your life, number one being the first kiss you’d shared with the Arrancar, you still felt fatigue gnawing at the edges of your vision and you thought it best if you didn’t continue any further. You sent him a nervous smile and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. “Goodnight, Grimmjow. Thank you. For today.”

He watched you go, watched the way your hips swayed slightly as you walked almost as if in a trance. But it was only when you gave him a cutesy little wave from around your bedroom door before it shut and the dumb smile fell from his lips that a determined look crossed his features like a flash of lightening in unison with the thunder that boomed outside.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he’d work out a way of getting this money stuff that you always seemed so damn worried about.