A/N: Hey guys! It's been so long, hasn't it? I haven't had inspiration in forever to write, but now that I got some, I have a nice one shot for all my fellow Ulqui-hime shippers out there! Now bare with me, it's late, I have school in like five hours, but I just have to post this now! I feel like it's both awesome and sucky at the same time, so… you know, review, and let me know xD

"Speaking" and 'thinking,'

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Or Orihime. Or sexy Ulquiorra~

One Touch

The moon winked down at her from above, pale light descending over all that lay below. Well, light wasn't the right word- as the name implied, Las Noches was a world that knew no true light. Only that hateful darkness that seemed to creep into the very crevices of the walls, the floors, even the lines in her skin; nothing could escape that inky blackness that gripped her in an icy fist. Save the moon, which mocked the orange haired teen. Look at me, do you remember what it's like? To see the moon, to feel wind on your face, to know you're safe and in your own bed, alive and well? The shining orb seemed to smirk at Orihime Inoue as she leaned against the window, her arms resting on the pane in silent contemplation.

She looked out across the vast mounds of sand, miles and miles of lonely grits, feeling her heart skip a beat. Oh, how long had it been since she had been outside? For an endless stream of time (without the transition between night and day, she had easily forgotten to keep track of the days) Ulquiorra had kept vigilant watch over her; over time, Aizen had permitted the girl more and more freedoms, but none of those included walking out the front door.

Still, she found herself drawn to the quiet stillness outside her prison (or palace, as the Arrancars seemed to think of it). Never had she seen another living thing moving out in the distance. Sure, there had to be other creatures out there; hollows, perhaps lower Arrancar. Orihime wasn't always as dumb as her naivety led people to believe. Without her conscious making a note of it, one of her fingers began reaching forward, lightly stroking the cool glass of the window. With every unnoticed flickering of her digit, her longing for freedom grew stronger and its intensity doubled.

'What I wouldn't give for just one step… one breath of outside air…'

Orihime bit her lower lip, finally noticing her finger's strange motion. She dropped her whole hand and sighed, feeling the vacancy of the large bedroom swallow her up. What she figured to be several days ago, Aizen had requested Ulquiorra for a type of mission. It involved traveling, and was to take a number of days. At the time, she hadn't been sad to see him go, but his presence was oddly missed now.

He barely spoke to her, but when she wanted to talk to him, he would listen. On and on she would blabber, making small talk, telling stories, even ranting about the most marginal subjects she could think of. Orihime assumed he didn't care about what she had to say; perhaps he didn't even pay attention. It was hard to tell, what with his emotive facial expressions and oh so apparent concern for other beings. Whatever the case, he was the nicest of all the Arrancars that had come to care for her, as surprising as that was.

For every estimated day Ulquiorra had been away, it seemed a new Arrancar had to be assigned to the task of bringing Orihime her food. Ulquiorra, under direct orders from Aizen, had made pained efforts to satiate her other needs, a luxury that no one else seemed to want to concern themselves with. She wasn't petty by nature, nor did she expect anyone to bend over backwards to please her. But the Arrancar who came to her room were the definition of hell.

Yammy had been the first. He stood directly in front of her, staring her down while he waited for her to eat. It frightened her, and when she hesitated, he took the chance to grab the meat off the plate (she wanted to believe it was chicken, but truly had no idea) and tried to shove it down her throat. Choking, her Shun Shun Rikka had activated on its own for an intervention. He ended up with a broken nose, but otherwise unharmed. From then on, however, every time they were forced to stand near each other, he gave her a look that seemed to promise an attempted murder.

The cruelest had been Menoly and Loly. Orihime had no idea what she had done to them to arouse such hatred, but they wasted no time in ruining her. Locking the door behind them, they had not only thrown the food at her, but tried to smash the dishes over her orange head, knocked over furniture, and tried to stab her with the silverware. The two monsters ripped up any books, drawings, or other papers Orihime had stashed in her room, screamed horrible insults at her, and chased her around in circles, laughing at her the entire time. They threatened to tell lies to Ulquiorra and Aizen, ones that would result in Orihime being tortured and beaten, if not worse, for disobeying orders. In tears, Orihime had begged them to stop, knowing they would never leave her alone. Another Arrancar (one she hadn't seen before, and whose name she didn't know) had to break down the door just to get to Menoly and Loly, and getting them to leave was a fight all in its own.

Needless to say, not only had she barely eaten, but Orihime's spirits were low. Melancholy was her sole companion as she gazed out into the moonlight world that she was forced to live in. A prisoner, trapped in endless darkness… while she was allowed to walk outside her room, she still felt like she was being suffocated. And it pained her to see all that open sand, just ripe for the walking… Orihime jumped, smacking her forehead off the window, as a loud boom was heard in the distance. She heard gruff yelling, and vaguely could recognize one voice as Grimmjow's. It was a safe bet he and another Arrancar had gotten into a fight over something stupid. The booms were getting louder, stronger; she felt the floor shake underneath her, and the sound of rushing footsteps as the other Espada raced to put a stop to the fight.

Orihime hesitated before pushing off the window, an idea sparking in her brain. She twiddled her fingers nervously, now staring at her closed door. With the distraction going on, it would be so easy to slip outside, unnoticed. She shook her head, trying to think reasonably. If she would get caught, nobody would be on her side. Who knew what kind of punishment she would receive for it. Then again… she felt a tugging sensation, drawing her eyes back in the direction of the moon. It beckoned her, pleaded with her, wanting her outside just as badly as she herself yearned to be free. Her foot took a hesitant step forward, and then another, and before she could register what was happening, her hand was already sliding the door open. Look to the left. Then the right. Now to the left again. Orihime saw no one, but with the occasional background boom still ringing, she knew where they had all gone.

'I… I can't believe I'm doing this…!'

Orihime's ample chest rose and fell with breathless excitement as she started walking down the narrow hallway. Her cape, swishing behind her, reminded her that, as long as she could fake confidence, nobody would know she wasn't supposed to be out and about. It felt strange, alien, unusual- how could it be not a single soul had caught her? Luck must have been in her cards, and for that she was grateful. She sent a small, quick prayer to her brother, whom even to this day she thought of as her Guardian Angel, thanking him for her fortune.

The front door loomed ahead of her. Every fiber of her being told her it couldn't be this simple. Freedom was only a few steps away, and after that, all that stood in her way would be the door. The task seemed cumbersome, however, and the girl stopped dead in her tracts. Taking several deep breathes, and peeking around while she did so, Orihime reached out and-

BOOM!

She clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle the startled scream. Grimmjow and the unknown opponent were certainly heating up their battle; she felt certain a wall had just been caved in. Perhaps it was an entire wing, or section of the castle- all she knew was, for every minute that battle raged on, was another second she could have outside. With a rush of confidence that swelled in her stomach like a balloon, Orihime pushed open the entrance and took a few quick steps. Fresh air hit her nose and filled her up; the aroma of lifeless sand was not as unpleasant as she had expected. It was rather intoxicating, actually. The balloon in her stomach burst, and with what remained of her out of character buoyancy, she took off across the sand.

Slipping across the mounds, Orihime felt weighed down by the sand that entered into her shoes, her dress, even her hair, but the feeling was exhilarating! A very slight breeze caught her attention, the top layer of sand spraying up into her face, coating her skin just a little. Holding back a laugh, she tripped and fell face forward, her shoulders shaking with silent giggles. Flopping onto her back, she made sand angels, not minding the deformity of them all (as snow seemed to work a million times better than the flimsy sand ever would). So happy was she Orihime didn't notice the shift in the air, or the slightly increased pressure. Behind her emerged a Hollow, tall enough to tower over three Ichigo's. Its form hazily resembled a bear, but its claws were long and narrow, not to mention fatal. Its snout was hooked, and its tail had spikes sticking out of it as well, making it an all around ugly looking foe.

"RAAAAAWR!"

It let its head snap back and unleashed a monster of a roar, one of its paws striking out to slice Orihime down the middle. She turned around in the nick of time and managed to release her Santen Kesshun. Because of her being taken off guard, the shield was rather weak, and one hit from the Hollow's claws shattered it. She tried to step back, but found her feet sinking into the deep sand, causing her movement to slow down significantly. The Hollow smirked at her, knowing this of course. It licked its chops hungrily, yearning for the taste of sweet human flesh. Everyone knew that the kill was all the more sweeter if it could be terrified and tortured beforehand, and this Hollow planned on doing just that to Orihime.

"Koten Zanshun, I reject!"

Orihime managed to cry out, aiming for the Hollow's limbs. Hoping to maim, but not kill, so that she could at least get away unharmed. The attack did little damage on the bear like Hollow, although a scratch along its head drew some beads of blood. It yelled out in anger and whipped its tail around. The orange head jumped to the side, missed her landing, and rolled into a heap on the ground. The directness of the attack had missed, but it scraped her across her stomach, and in the process tore her outfit to shreds. She spat out a mouthful of dry sand, fear sinking into her heart. What was she going to do now?

A flash of white was barely seen behind the Hollow, yet in the blink of her mocha eyes, it disappeared into ash. Standing in the same spot the monster had previously stood, holding out a single finger and looking as displeased as usual, was Ulquiorra. His thick eyebrows were turned downwards in their usual disapproving manner, his empty eyes trained on her. When Orihime didn't speak, he reached down and roughly yanked her to her feet. She cried out; her stomach was reminding her of the hit she just took. Red began to stain her middle, and with wobbly legs, her body begged her to just give up and crash back down in the sand. In an instant, his arm went around her back, the other one cupping the back of her neck. Her face erupted in a shade of red that, although it didn't match the blood that seeped from her wound, was still a shade all of its own.

"U-Ulqui…"

Orihime tried to mutter out her thanks, but her eyes decided to shut on her at that moment, and her mind went black.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

Luckily, her wound was only a scratch. Back in the castle, Grimmjow had been overcome by his, for lack of a better word, comrades, and was facing severe punishment for wrecking several corridors and for basically being a huge pain in the butt for all those involved. Ulquiorra made a 'tsk' sound as Orihime collapsed into his pale arms. He wasn't sure what instinct brought out such an action.

'Aizen-sama wishes that I take care of the women. For that reason alone, my body reacted to the potential of her falling. She is needed in perfect condition if she is to be of any use,'

He picked up her slender body without any real difficulty and carried her back to home. It was obvious that a fight had occurred, and while others cast him curious glances as they passed, none stopped to talk to him. That suited him; he had no desire to explain why he carried a limp female back to her bedroom and shut the door firmly behind him. He set her down on her bed, eyeing the blood that had stained his own shirt.

"Curse you Woman! Aizen-sama gave these to me!"

Ulquiorra hissed at her, aware that she couldn't hear him. He turned to leave her there, but caught himself glancing over his shoulder. She was also going to need new clothes. He knew it would take awhile, as she was not a priority on anyone's list. Closing his emerald eyes, Ulquiorra turned and left, softly shutting the door behind him so to prevent the noise from waking the unconscious girl. Her wound, he figured, would be fine; she was a healer after all. As he began to head towards his own room, a pink blob stepped in his way.

"Oooh, Ulquiorra, rumor has it you were alone with Orihime while she was passed out! Any dirty details you might want to share?~"

Szayel smiled in that nosey way of his, much to Ulquiorra's already aggravated annoyance.

"I don't believe that's any of your concern. Now step out of my way,"

Ulquiorra commanded in his cold voice, not in the mood for any funny business with the other Espada. Szayel was not about to give up pursuit; his golden eyes looked past Ulquiorra, to Orihime's awaiting door. He had been after Ulquiorra to get permission to perform all kinds of experiments on the poor girl.

"Think of how much pleasure we can give Aizen-sama if I could create a device that would manipulate her healing powers! Domination is already in our grasps; think of how easily, in the unlikely situation any of us should sustain injuries, we could be healed! And the best part, we could finally kill that brat and be rid of her nuisances!"

The scientist laughed as if he had told an amusing joke, but Ulquiorra's eyes had frozen even more. Just ever so slightly, the temperature surrounding them seemed to drop a few degrees. He stared down Szayel and spoke in his usual, freezing tone

"Aizen-sama wants this woman to remain safe. Until he orders me otherwise, you will not touch her, unless you want every one of your fingers snapped like twigs in the process,"

And with that said, Ulquiorra walked past the pink haired man, their shoulders brushing stiffly. Szayel made a face and strutted off in the opposite way, his mind still on thoughts of experimenting on the curvy girl.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

When Orihime awoke no more than a few hours later, the first thing she noticed was white material draped over the corner of her bed. Her chocolate eyes looked down to inspect her stomach, though her fairy friends had taken care of her in her sleep, and she was healed. Slowly, she sat up, testing the muscles and making sure everything was working properly. Pleased with the results, she reached over to inspect the mystery cloth.

"Is this…?"

Holding it up in front of her, it looked like an old male's tee shirt. Obviously it was for her, and after peeking down at the front of her dress, she blushed and realized she needed it. But who would have left her such a gift? She fingered the material and held it up, deciding she may as well try it on. She paused for a moment, her brow buckled in confusion. It smelled familiar… was this one of… no, surely Ulquiorra had not left her one of his own personal articles of clothing.

Orihime stared at the shirt, feeling her heart skip a beat. Why would such a callous and apathetic man leave her something like this? It was actually… well, almost nice. Feeling her cheeks blush just a little darker, she smiled and pulled the shirt up over her head. It was a bit of a squeeze to get it over her chest, as the shirt wasn't meant to stretch that far, but it looked much nicer than the shreds of her top she had on before. To think, if Grimmjow or anyone else saw her with such little clothing on! She would have died with embarrassment!

"Do you always behave so poorly when I'm gone?"

Ulquiorra had chosen that moment to walk into her room, his arms draped at his sides. He was clutching a small box, but his face was the same as always. She looked from the present to him, and then down at her- er, his, shirt. It was so strange, but hearing Ulquiorra speak… even though he was upbraiding her, it was still nice to hear his voice. Had she really missed him that badly?

"It was awful while you were gone… everyone was so cruel… "

Orihime refused to raise her eyes, but she could feel Ulquiorra's gaze intensify.

"I did hear about the pathetic scrum that disobeyed Aizen-sama's wishes about keeping your health up,"

Ulquiorra agreed, his tone angry. His eyes looked her up and down with disapproval, like he had when they were out in the sand.

"You look filthy, and I can see you haven't been eating,"

He accused her, scowling. Orihime hung her head, almost feeling ashamed for having let him down. Wait, when had she started caring about what Ulquiorra had to say? She couldn't put her finger on it, but something tugged on her heart and made her want to apologize for whatever it was she had done to offend him. He didn't give her the chance. Stepping forward, he held out the small box that he had been holding, expecting her to take it from him.

"I was away in the World of the Living, and it was Aizen-sama's wish that I bring you back something. He says you may be missing that world of trash, although frankly I can't see why. He wasn't specific on what to bring back,"

Ulquiorra paused. He could have said something like I hope you like it, or I hope it is an acceptable gift. Anything like that would have been fine. Instead, he ended his story and waited for Orihime to open the box. It was just a plain white box, nothing fancy. Orihime held it in both her hands, staring at it as if it were some complex enigma. Finally, hesitantly, she lifted the lid and sat it down beside her. Inside, to her delight, were two silky smooth green hair ribbons, the exact shade of Ulquiorra's eyes.

"They're beautiful!"

Orihime smiled happily and pulled them out of the box. She felt a little devious idea sneak into her brain. Casting a glance in Ulquiorra's direction, she batted her eye lashes a bit and held up the ribbons.

"Do you want to see what these are used for? Come here, I'll show you!"

She noticed his reluctance to participate and added

"Aizen-sama would be proud to see you and I doing something together!"

He stared back at her for a moment before shaking his head in defeat.

"Sit down,"

Orihime coached him, scooting over so he had room. Ulquiorra did as he was told and sat still as a rock, waiting. She picked up her hair brush from the nightstand beside her and began brushing his soft black hair. He resisted the urge to squirm under her touch. She resisted the desire to stroke his ebony locks; they were so smooth and silky, the hair brush slid through them like a hot knife to butter, and the strands flowed through her hands like air. Her digits made quick work with his hair, laughing to herself as she put the ribbons on either side of his head.

"Wow Ulquiorra! You sure do look good!"

She burst out laughing then, because the sight of his blank face (aka, lack of a reaction to looking like a pretty boy) made the moment all the more hilarious. Ulquiorra, usually annoyed by the loud, obnoxious, ringing laugher, said nothing, but let the girl carry on her childish ways. One of her hands rested on his shoulder, while on the other one her whole arm draped over it, almost like she was hugging him from behind. It felt a little awkward, but even more than that… it felt right. To have him so near, so close. All of a sudden, the laugher died in her throat, and she quickly withdrew her touch. At once, Ulquiorra turned away from her and made to stand up.

"U-Ulquiorra don't go!"

Orhime surprised herself by crying out, her arms reaching out to wrap around his middle. She definitely hugged him this time, holding on tight, a raging blush bursting across her fiery cheeks.

"What are you doing, Woman?"

Ulquiorra didn't like the touching- it was unnerving to have something hold onto him like this. Yet, at the same time, he didn't push her away, or command her to stop. He could have broken her arms in half, like he threatened Szayel, but no words came to his mouth. He was frozen where he stood, half off the bed, ready to walk away from all this confusion.

'I don't… understand… what is she doing to me…?'

Ulquiorra thought in the closest thing to panic he was able to feel. He could feel her heart being rapidly, could tell she was nervous, or was it fear? Did she fear his reaction to this, whatever it was? He had asked her a multiple of times, and while she had denied it, it was a thought that he had contemplated on many times. He had never laid a hand to her. Though he had insulted her, kept her locked up, and threatened to force feed her should she stop eating, he had never touched a hair on her orange head. In fact, he had caused her less trouble than any other Arrancar in Hueco Mundo. Whether this was good, bad, or simply irrelevant, he wasn't sure. All he knew… there was a strange sensation flooding through his stone cold veins when she touched him like that.

'Just one touch… that's all I did… I hope I didn't cross some kind of line…!'

Orihime gulped with a feverish worry, her blush still bright and her heart in a beating frenzy. She muttered an apology, to which Ulquiorra had no reply. Something moved in the air. It stirred up the ground beneath them, the free space between them, it brushed against their hands. The something, though, could not be named. It could not be described. Orihime had yet to let go of Ulquiorra, and he had yet to ask her to.

"P-Please… I'm sorry… I know this is strange… but… I don't want you… you to leave again… s-so soon!"

Orihime stuttered out, hiding her head behind his neck. Oh my, she could smell his hair, his skin, his collar- the smells tickled her nose the way the outside air had, pulling her in, making her want more. Though she spoke quickly, Ulquiorra had no problem hearing her words. It was understanding the raw emotion that lay behind them that caused him confusion.

'This has to go along with that "Heart" she mentions. It doesn't exist. It is nothing but a lie this naïve Woman has conjured up inside her foolish head. I shall leave her to her own nonsense and go and continue about my business,'

This is what Ulquiorra told himself as he stood frozen in the healer's arms. Slowly, however, his legs bent down, and he sagged back down on the bed. Where he stayed. In Orihime's shaking arms. Her eyes, wide with surprise, slowly filled with tears. He… was actually going to stay with her? But why? Why did she even want him to? Blinking back the salty drops, Orihime managed to smile at the back of his head.

'Just one touch at a time, Ulquiorra… and I'll show you my human "Heart" yet,'

A/N: Not bad for my first attempt at writing in, like, forever, right? Reviews would be lovely :D