Chapter Text
Ah, the old inner monologue; the old line of, “I can’t say it because I’m afraid of what will happen if I voice my desires, wants, and needs.”
Orihime didn’t want to tell Ulquiorra Cifer, the former fourth espada turned student, that she wanted him. She wanted to know him. She wanted to explore the what-ifs that would have taken place had he not died. She wanted to make a deeper connection with him.
Knowing what she knew of him, he would throw it back into her face and mock her for her feelings.
Nope. Not saying a word. She had already experienced enough rejection concerning the topic of him. She did not want to face rejection from him, in person.
“I just can’t say it.” she said in a soft tone.
Then the grip around her arm left and Ulquiorra was leaving the room. Orihime followed him, watching as he grabbed his school jacket and his bag, slinging the strap over his head.
“What are you doing?” Orihime asked, standing in the hallway.
“I’m healed and I’m decent. If you can’t answer the questions I ask, there is no point in staying and wasting my time,” he stated.
Ouch.
That stung.
Orihime grimaced as he walked past her, their arms brushing. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the immediate sound of the door opening and closing. When no sound came, she slowly turned around.
He was standing there with his back to her.
“Yes?”
“When you want to answer my questions, get my number and text me,” Ulquiorra said before he left, the door shutting with a quiet thud.
Orihime stood there for several minutes trying to figure out what just happened. Had he just instructed her to text him? He wanted to talk to her? The woman had to take deep breaths to calm the butterflies in her stomach. As she took a third breath, her eyes opened wide in shock.
He was her student. He wasn’t just some tall winged demon who had filled her dreams for several years. Okay, more than a few. He had haunted her for almost eight years. Some of her fantasies had included Ulquiorra on more than one occasion.
She bit her lip as she went to sit down on her bed. Ulquiorra had made a few hints to things and she had reacted. She was aware that her body thought the green-eyed male was attractive. Her brain was screaming and throwing red flags everywhere.
He was a hollow. He killed people.
He had been concerned for her when the Vasto Lorde came after her.. He had shown regret and remorse.
Orihime couldn’t think about this right now. She had to plan lessons and get ready for teaching classes tomorrow. She decided to avoid him for right now.
*
It was hard to avoid him in her dreams though. People were screaming. Orihime ran. People surrounded him, she had to shove them out of the way. Bile rose in her throat as she saw his body. It was broken; lifeless. How did this happen? This wasn’t how Ulquiorra really died, was it?
No! He was alive now. He was healthy. He was breathing.
So why did she see him lying in the street, dying? She couldn’t witness this again.
When she woke up from that nightmare, she lay there staring at the blank ceiling. What did these dreams mean? Why did they always show Ulquiorra dying?
*
Even a week later, Orihime was avoiding Ulquiorra. She avoided his gaze. She avoided speaking to him. She avoided being alone with him. It paid off too because she didn’t see him… until late Friday night.
It was pouring down rain and Orihime had been sitting by her table watching some romance movie, so immersed in the plot that when he banged on the door, it scared her. Orihime got up and grabbed the umbrella sitting by the door before she opened it, hoping there would be no use of the makeshift weapon.
Ulquiorra stood there, bloodied and wet, water and blood mixing on his skin and dripping onto his clothes. Orihime hurried him inside the genkan. She tried to help him take his shoes off but he waved her off.
“I can do it,” he stated before leaning against the wall. He raised one foot and then the other, slipping the shoe off with just a finger. He let them drop onto the floor.
Orihime frowned as she stared at him, a feeling of ire rising. They had been ignoring each other so well. “What would possess you to come here? Why didn’t you seek help or go home?”
The coughing sounded painful; so did the groan that left him. “I wouldn’t have made it. I would have collapsed before then,” he replied.
She sighed and held out a hand. “C’mon I think I have some of Ichigo’s clothing that might fit you.”
“Ichigo? You mean Kurosaki?”
Orihime furrowed her brows for a moment before she nodded. “Yes, Ichigo. He’s my boyfriend.”
The look on his face was one Orihime could only describe as annoyance. She frowned. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying or hiding something,” she pointed out. “Your face speaks louder than words.”
He scoffed at her. It looked like he was either going to turn and leave or complain about something but a shiver ran through his body. There was no point in arguing with Orihime at this point.
She sprung into action, going into the bathroom, returning with a basket filled with some towels and a change of clothing for Ulquiorra. She made him strip off the wet jacket, dropping it onto the floor of the genkan. His wet and once again bloody t-shirt joined the pile. Making sure he was steady Orihime turned around and listened to the rest of the wet clothing being removed and landing with a wet flop.
“Towel, please,” Ulquiorra said.
It was then that she realized that the espada turned human was quite possibly naked as she reached into the basket to retrieve a towel. She handed it back to him without looking. Hearing the fabric rub against his skin was enough to make her squeeze her legs together.
This wasn’t an appropriate reaction to have when someone was injured.
A sigh left her. Orihime had to get away from him. “When you’re done drying off and dressing, put your clothes into the basket and put them into the bathroom. You can wash and dry them after you’ve warmed up a bit and been healed.”
For a moment Orihime stood there, listening to the silence. She shook her head. What had she expected? Gratitude? From Ulquiorra Cifer? Just as she took a step forward he did speak.
“Thank you.”
He just kept surprising her, didn’t he?
*
Ulquiorra hadn’t planned on getting into a fight but it happened. The same punks that had bothered him since the first day had kept up the harassment. There was only so much he could take which is why he swung on the leader of the group, dropping him to the wet pavement.
It was a fight that once again he couldn’t win because of numbers. The trio had turned into a quintuplet, adding in two younger males who were impressionable and could be goaded into bullying Ulquiorra.
The four guys had jumped him, pounding him into the ground, leaving him more injured than the last time. The only thing that stopped the assault was the fact that it started pouring rain. The leader had kicked him in the ribs before they ran off. Ulquiorra felt something crack when that blow landed.
This was wonderful.
It took him a while to get up off the muddied path. He slipped once because of the pain that blossomed in his chest. Ulquiorra had to grit his teeth as he got to his feet before he started shuffling his feet, walking towards Orihime Inoue’s apartment.
Every breath felt like he was trying to inhale fire. His ribs had to be cracked or broken. He could feel the warmth of the blood running down the side of his face and chin. Ulquiorra didn’t know if he was going to make it but when he saw her building, he moved faster towards the structure.
That was a lapse of judgment for him. It felt like he was going to die. When she opened the door, she looked so shocked to see him. If he looked as bad as he felt, he could understand why.
Orihime took him in just like he knew she would. She started to baby him and he had to put a stop to it. He could remove his own shoes. Ulquiorra did get irritated when she said the shinigami’s name. The feeling turned into acute anger when Orihime said that the same shinigami who killed him was her boyfriend.
He had to show vulnerability by revealing he was in pain. That’s all it took for her to move, coming back with the container.
“Take off the jacket, just throw it onto the floor, same with the shirt,” Orihime directed.
Ulquiorra looked at her after he had let his t-shirt fall to the floor. He had to take off the muddy, wet jeans. Was she going to stand there and watch? It would be amusing to watch her reactions if he just stripped but as soon as he put his hands on the button of the pants, she turned around.
It seemed she had her wits about her today when he got half naked. Ulquiorra took a moment to study her before he asked for a towel. Was she squirming or just shifting where she stood? When she left he sighed before finishing stripping and got dried off.
He used the other towel on his hair before he got dressed in the black sweatpants and white t-shirt. Kurosaki was slightly larger than him as a human and the pants rode dangerously low on his hips. Luckily the t-shirt was long enough to cover his torso.
Orihime wouldn’t be scandalized.
The thought made him smirk before he put all of the towels and clothing into the basket. He used his foot to push it into the bathroom, leaving it right inside the door.
“What’s so funny?” The redhead was standing by her table, arms held close to her, hugging her body.
Ulquiorra’s green eyes landed on the woman. She had a vexed expression on her face. “Nothing.”
“Just like before?”
“Pardon?”
“You know, when you got upset that Ichigo is my boyfriend,” Orihime replied.
Ulquiorra huffed. Then he rolled his eyes at her response. How had she figured that out? His gaze turned back to the redhead.
*
“Your expression speaks volumes,” Orihime said. She could have laughed when his face returned to a neutral expression instead of the frown he previously wore after she asked him what was funny. All of his emotions were held in his eyes. They weren’t dead or lifeless anymore. There was a flame burning behind them. It made her want to smile but she couldn’t.
Orihime felt he was taking a bit too long and thought he maybe needed some help. She had walked to the hallway to see Ulquiorra standing there in just sweatpants. Her mouth went dry. A pulse went through her body, ending between her legs. She thought squeezing her thighs together might help alleviate the sensation but it just made it worse.
He looked like a beautiful porcelain statue; flawless skin, chiseled muscles, the perfect ass. That fabric was literally being held up by the rise of his ass and the bulge in the front. She had to quickly turn around, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself.
Orihime didn’t need him mocking her today. “It’s the eyes, not your actual expression. Your face may exude boredom but your eyes say that you’re not happy.” She explained.
Her eyes widened slightly as those green orbs shifted. Defiance. Dominance. Espada.
Orihime didn’t bother to hide her reaction as her teeth sank into her lower lip, breath coming faster. What was he thinking? What was he going to do? Years of fantasies started playing in her mind, flickering like a movie. Her tongue came out to wet her lips.
“Something wrong, Woman?”
His voice was the smoothest baritone she had ever heard. It had an indulgent quality to it. If it were fabric, it’d be the finest silk sliding against her bare skin. If it were food and drink, something she could taste, it would be the perfect wine paired with the finest dark chocolate.
Another shiver went down her body, causing that pulsing sensation to occur once more. It didn’t help that he moved several steps closer to her. “Nothing’s wrong. Why would anything be wrong?” she answered, giving him a small, strained smile.
“You’re lying. If it’s nothing then why do you look so flushed? Are you bothered by something?” Ulquiorra asked. That smirk was on his face again but it didn’t reach his eyes. He still had the attitude that reeked of dominance.
“You should stop asking questions whose answers I don’t know, Ulquiorra. Why don’t you ever ask easy questions?” Orihime shook her head. She was going to ignore him again.
“So there is something. What is it?”
Orihime glared at him briefly. The audacity of him. He had never been this audacious as an Espada. It was a new part of his personality that she didn’t like at all. “As if I would tell you,” she snapped.
For a moment he was quiet. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“I know I don’t have to tell you–”
“I already know.”
“What?”
“I already know,” Ulquiorra said.
