A Single Shade of Orange

He couldn't understand the strange sensations the red-headed woman stirred up inside him. It was as if he lived constantly cold and as soon as he saw her and that fiery red head of hers, a small candle lit up inside him, burning him whole sometimes.

"Strange indeed" Ulquiorra mumbled as he carefully pushed the cart with food for the human girl.

'It must be a human virus of some sort' he tried to convince himself. Humans were the ones driven by emotions, not him. He was an arrancar, a soldier in Lord Aizen's army. He followed orders. That was all, his everything. And yet, an unwelcome thought grew inside of him. None of his fellow arrancars were like him. Ulquiorra pictured Grimmjow and Nnoitra driven by their anger and bloodlust; he pictured Szayel Aporro driven by his need for knowledge…. He was the only one… Well, empty. Ulquiorra had never really paid much attention to the aspects of death talk, but now he realized… Nihilism… He had no goal, no desires, no feelings…

No that was wrong, he thought. She'd done something to him. That woman, Inoue Orihime, had done something to him. He had all this weird feelings now. They made her presence more… tolerable, somehow; pleasant even.

Still, that didn't change anything. He was still a shell of his former, long forgotten, soul-owning human self. That he was sure. He could feel it deep in his bones. Ulquiorra wondered if back then he'd felt the touch of delicate hands like hers; if he'd felt lips like hers in his; he wondered… if he ever felt the thing humans called 'love'.

Then Ulquiorra wondered if he had lost her, like he would surely lose the human girl. If he'd felt his soul being ripped apart as she disappeared with it. She must have, for his earliest memories were of the never ending night and desert of Hueco Mundo. He was already empty back then, with no sun, no light, and no hope. Only the moon stood over his head. He moved through the darkness, driven solely by his biological needs to eat other hollows.

But he was different now. He was an arrancar. He was stronger. He was the fourth strongest arrancar in the dead domain that was the Night Realm.

Ulquiorra knocked on the door and rolled the cart inside not waiting for an answer. Inoue Orihime kneeled on the floor, her back turned to him, under the moonlight that came through the barred window. Her hands lay in her lap, fingers intertwined and she had her eyes closed.

Was she praying to return to her friends, and leave him? He questioned himself.

Ulquiorra cleared his throat, startling the human girl. She got up quickly, dropping her arms to her sides, clutching the skirt of her arrancar uniform. Her gaze wavered between him and the food.

"You should eat." Ulquiorra said trying to keep his thoughts and worries from showing in his voice. He wasn't used to these things. Feelings. He wasn't sure of how to deal with them.

She dropped her eyes to the floor, still silent. He was used to getting an answer when he talked to people. People had to answer him! He'd threaten them if they didn't. But with her… He wanted an answer. He wanted to hear her voice, needed even. Yes, needed.

"I won't leave until you eat." Ulquiorra added.

And then he thought it was strange, how he felt slightly emptier as she hurried to the plate and started eating. She wanted him out that bad, huh?

"Are you afraid, girl?"

"No, I'm not afraid."

Those words echoed in Ulquiorra's head as he felt himself being drained of his remaining strength. He'd lost. Right in front of her. He was so focused in not losing her to Kurosaki Ichigo that he'd lost. He'd lost her; he'd lost the battle; he was losing his life.

In one last effort, Ulquiorra stretched out his hand, reaching out for her. Her watery eyes brimmed with pain. 'This in my hand… This is the heart.' He saw her mumble something, but he could no longer hear. Ulquiorra closed his eyes.

The last darkness grabbed on to him tight, his mind struggling to stay conscious and take control of his body. He wanted to run to her, to never let her go. To keep her with him at all times. Lord Aizen? He could kill her himself if he wanted. She was the only thing he cared about now. So, what if he was empty? She'd make him whole.

She'd make him whole…

...

When Ulquiorra came to he was surrounded by a warm orange light that filled him up with strength. He felt warm all over.

'Is this heaven?' He wondered. Or was it hell, and he was in so much pain he was already delusional?

All he could hear were compulsive gasps, one after the other and he felt warm watery drops falling onto his shoulder. 'Not hell'

A soft, red thing brushed against his nose lightly. It smelled… He took a deep breath. It had a wonderful smell. But was this… His eyes widened noticing what was before him.

'Oh.' This was definitely heaven.

Hugging him, head next to his, with arms wrapped around his neck, was her, Orihime. His hope, his sun…

"Orihime…" He whispered her name and she moved back a little to be at eye level with him.

"This is the first time you say my name." She smiled, tears streaming down her blushed face.

"Why…" He managed to say.

And then she did the most amazing thing he could possibly imagine. She pressed her lips against his, hard, and stayed there for a while. Her lips felt warm and soft, and when she pulled back and he licked his lips, they tasted really sweet, like strawberries.

Her wide smile was even brighter than the light that surrounded them.

She'd healed him. He looked around noticing the tiny beings she could invoke with her powers. She had the power to reject events. A true blessing from the gods and she'd use it on him, on his filthy impure self.

She really was perfect.

This is his arms, this was his heart.

Author's Note: I really liked writing this story and I don't care if Ulquiorra is a bit OOC. I just T^T Ulquihime feels!

I love UlquiHime so much!

So... yeah.

Hope you enjoyed!