White Elephant

She shuffled along the wall trying not to look too suspicious, but the wrapping paper under her fingers made a crinkling noise whenever she moved. He was by the tree, examining it. It had only been put up recently; each of them had brought a few decorations and put them up. Rukia had brought her favorite rabbit ornaments, Ishida was fond of crosses, and Sado brought some colorful little birds. Orihime had strung jelly-beans. She thought the tree looked beautiful. He hadn't been there though, so of course it would make sense he wanted to admire their work now.

Gripping the squishy gift in her hands, she walked over to him.

"Isn't it nice? We all chipped in!"

His head cocked to look down at her. "Is it supposed to be so…mismatched?" A thin finger poked a flower ornament she had put up. "Aren't they usually themed?"

"Well, um…" She thought a moment. "Our theme was to have no theme. The idea was to have fun." Yes, that was exactly it. And it had been fun. They rarely saw each other due to their differing class schedules. There were only certain times they could be together anymore, and this was a perfect opportunity for it. College was a very busy time, after all.

He hmm'd to himself and looked back to the tree, hands stuffed in his pockets. She had the sinking feeling that he wouldn't speak anymore, unless she prompted him. Ulquiorra was mostly quiet.

"I'm glad you could make it." Her fingers eased a wrinkle out of the package in her grasp. He was something like a new member to their little group. She (by chance) had a class with him and ended up sitting next to him for the semester. He was very quiet and direct but also very smart. Somehow he had stood out to her, and she had trusted him, which was strange. He wasn't like her other friends at all.

"I had no reason not to accept."

She had been the one to slowly try to bring him into the fold. Sometimes he would accept her offers, and sometimes he would refuse. But whenever she wanted to study with him, he would do so. That's how she knew that, deep down, he had to be a nice person. He didn't need her to study with, she was fairly certain. But the semester was coming to a close, and they wouldn't see each other anymore. That is, unless they became real friends. Him accepting the invitation to the Christmas party was a good sign, Orihime thought. And even more, she had wanted to make sure it was perfectly clear that she, at least, valued him. So she had knitted him a scarf during her free time and planned to present it to him. At the very least, he would see that she cared. Her imagination tended to run wild with the other possibilities.

"Ah, right…well, I just was hoping you would because we won't be seeing each other in class anymore. And it was sad to think I wouldn't see you, so maybe we can still hang out sometimes, because I'd really like that, and maybe you might too…b-but if you wouldn't that's ok too. I know you are probably really busy…" She was babbling, she knew, but she was nervous. He blinked down at her, his green eyes unreadable, and she felt like disappearing into the floor. She looked down, her cheeks feeling hot.

I know! I'll just give him the gift! That's what she needed, a good distraction. If he liked the scarf she would feel so much more confident.

Her mouth opened, her hands tightening around the present. But then a hand on her arm made her jump.

"Oh, here Inoue-san, I'll put this under the tree for you!" It had been Keigo, and a moment later Orihime felt herself clutching nothing but air.

"Ah-ah, wha?" She stuttered, watching as Keigo deposited the gift on a pile at their feet.

"We should probably get started…OI!" He yelled, getting everyone's attention. "We're going to start!"

She felt herself being propelled away from the tree and the gift that was still underneath. Chairs were arranged in a semicircle in front of their heavily decorated tree, and she sat, watching as everyone else did the same.

What's going on? She fretted, looking around. It seemed she had missed something.

"Ok," Keigo began, pulling out a Santa hat that was filled with white slips of paper. "We're going to play white elephant this year since we have so many people!" He smiled gleefully. "This will be great."

Orihime didn't think it was great at all. In fact, it was a disaster.

"Who made you in charge?" Ichigo muttered, taking a number out of the hat that was being passed around.

Looking down at her number, Orihime saw she was 4th. She glanced over to where Ulquiorra sat across from her and wondered what number he might have.

"Who has number 1?" Tatsuki asked, looking around.

"I do!" Number 1 belonged to Rukia.

"The rules are simple," Keigo explained from his seat. "Pick a gift and open it. After you, the next person gets a choice of either taking that gift or choosing another one and so on. If you keep your gift, you can unwrap it. If you trade, the other person can unwrap it."

And so the exchange began. Rukia ended up unwrapping Tekken 5, with which she was fairly unimpressed. Ichigo was next, and once he was back to his chair, he promptly traded his gift for the Tekken game Rukia had. Rukia opened her new gift to find a shoujo manga.

"Ohhh," she said, her eyes big as she looked at the sparkly, heart filled cover. Ichigo seemed to be relieved that he had exchanged.

Third was Sado, and he selected a gift but also opted to exchange; thus, he took Ichigo's game away.

"Damnit!" Ichigo cursed as Sado threw a soft package onto his lap. Ishida's glasses flashed suspiciously as Ichigo opened the gift. "What the…"

Everyone broke out into laughter as Ichigo revealed a blanket with Ishida's trademark cross logo.

"Gee, thanks Ishida…" Ichigo said dryly causing Ishida's eyebrow to quirk in defiance.

"I feel insulted that my hard work is wasted on someone like you, Kurosaki!" He replied heatedly, pushing his glasses up.

Orihime got up. It was her turn, and she had a plan. She would simply pick her gift. As long as no one tried to steal it from her she could give it to Ulquiorra later. It was the only option she could think of.

She pulled her small package out from the pile.

"Ahaha…I think I'll take this…" she said, hoping she didn't seem too suspicious. She unwrapped it slowly, feeling bad that it wasn't being unwrapped by the person it was meant for. The paper peeled away and she pulled out the scarf she had labored on. It was green, to match Ulquiora's eyes, and she felt slightly embarrassed that she might have been too obvious.

"But…didn't you put that gift down, Inoue-san?" Keigo asked, confused.

She blinked and then gave a nervous laugh. "W-well, I thought it might be interesting to see what happens with it! Maybe someone will like the color, so I will know for future reference." It was an excuse, but they seemed to buy it. She looked briefly at Ulquiorra and caught his eye. Unfortunately, he only seemed to return a confused expression at her stare.

Orihime sighed. Too bad she wasn't very good at communicating with a mere glance. She really needed to work on that for moments such as this.

Next was Ishida's turn, and he traded his small box for his own blanket. Ichigo ended up with a box of chocolate this time. The game continued on until it was finally Ulquiorra's turn.

Orihime held her breath as he contemplated with to do with his unopened bag.

"I will trade…" he announced, and Orihime felt her heartbeat quicken. She was gripping her scarf tightly, not brave enough to look up, her face embarrassed yet hopeful. She squirmed in her chair as he walked across the semicircle. But then he exchanged with Keigo, taking the book of puzzles he had gotten, while Keigo, sadly for him, ended up with a rabbit cellphone charm.

Orihime breathed out, her heart falling as she looked up at Ulquiorra who was inspecting the puzzle book. Her fingers spread out across the scarf in her lap, disappointment seeping into her expression.

He didn't want it…

Of course someone like him would be into a more intellectual gift. She felt stupid for thinking he would want something like a scarf. So mortified was she that Orihime barely noticed that it was Tatsuki's turn until she spoke.

"Hm…I think I will trade with Orihime."

Brown eyes blinked up as Tatsuki gave her an unopened box while Tatsuki took the scarf out of her lap. When Tatsuki returned to her seat, she held it up next to Ulquiorra and said, "Hey look, same color as your eyes."

Ulquiorra's eyes widened as he lowered his book to look down at the scarf and Tatsuki's knowing expression. Orihime had been opening the box Tatsuki had traded and had missed the exchange. The box revealed a very cute looking tea set. It was white with blue flower prints, much like her favorite hairpins. But Orihime couldn't find it in her to feel happy about it. Her plans had gone completely awry.

She sighed to herself. Maybe next year.

She didn't have the heart to take the scarf back from her best friend. Next time, she would pick out something more suited for someone like Ulquiorra. The only person she could feel disappointed with was herself for not picking something he might enjoy. She realized then that she had wanted to impress him all along but had failed miserably.

When the game ended, Orihime had slipped outside. Plopping herself down on the front step outside, she huddled there in the cold and looked at the stars.

At least Tatsuki-chan will wear it, I'm sure. Ulquiorra probably wouldn't if he had gotten it.

She shook her head, her hair brushing against her cheek. It wasn't making her feel good at all, thinking like that. What was done was done. This didn't have to be the end; as long as Ulquiorra had a good time with them, he might hang out again. It was better to think positive.

Behind her, the door opened and closed as someone else stepped out onto the step. Orihime was about to turn and find out who it was when she felt a hand on top of her head.

"Woman, what are you doing?"

She froze. It was Ulquiorra.

"Ah…" When he removed the pressure she ran a hand through her hair. "Just looking at the stars." He moved past her, stepping down off the step onto the sidewalk so that he stood in front of her. She didn't want to look up; she knew if she looked at him, looked into his eyes, she would begin acting like a fool all over again. He could cause her to behave so strangely sometimes.

"You seem troubled." He was looking at her. She could feel his eyes.

"N-no, I'm fine! Just, um, I wasn't expecting us to trade like that. B-but I liked my tea set…so…" She bit her lip to stop from talking and stared at his shoe.

"I'm glad," he said, still watching her. "I was the one who purchased it."

At this, she did look up, and when she did her breath caught in her throat. Around Ulquiorra's neck was her scarf. Except now, by some miracle, it was his scarf just as it was meant to be.

"Y-you…" she muttered, dumbfounded. "But Tatsuki-chan chose my scarf!"

"Yes, she did, but I traded with her afterwards." He held out his hand to her, and she took it, her mind still reeling. "I hadn't given it much attention at first, but after I saw it, I wanted it for myself." He looked into her wide eyes. "Its color was very appropriate."

She was certain she was blushing now, and he hadn't released her hand. "I…I'm glad that you thought so…" Her fingers tightened around his, their warmth seeping together. "I had really hoped you would…I enjoyed getting to know you this semester, so…"

"The feeling is mutual," he told her. He was so close; she could see his breaths hang in the cold of the air. "Not seeing you afterwards was…an undesirable outcome." She noticed he was choosing his words carefully; yet when he spoke, he said them softly, as if telling a secret. And she felt that it really was. Somehow she knew he had not been so open like this before. Perhaps he was uncertain too.

A smile spread across her face. She had worried for nothing. So she looked up, daring to take the intensity of his gaze because that was what she wanted after all. She wanted him to see her. They shared a moment, looking at one another as if for the first time. Because it somehow was. This was something new, a connection that was special compared to what it had been.

When he pulled at their combined fingers she stepped closer, her face lifting up as his moved down. She had seen it in his eyes, and she had wanted it too. Their distance became nothing as he pressed his lips to hers. A brush of soft skin and the fluttering of eyelashes. Their warm breaths mingled between them for a moment and they broke apart. She smiled bashfully at him and saw his own lips quirked in a half-smile. When she shivered, though not entirely from the cold, he took off the scarf to wrap around her tenderly.

"Merry Christmas, Ulquiorra," she said as they huddled together, her face all warm happiness.

His only reply was to kiss her again.

A/N: Hope everyone has a merry Christmas!

Beta'd by someone I kinda like...

-Miss Soupy