Toshiro shivered softly. Hm. How unusual. It was not like him to shiver at all, like ever. It certainly wasn't from the cold, which was certain as Toshiro had never felt the cold a day in his life. Yet as he wandered down the snow-dusted sidewalk toward his work he couldn't help but feel the goose bumps rise on his skin and the uncontrollable tiny muscle spasms that went through him. Was it a foreboding perhaps? A sign of things to come? Maybe.
Ulquiorra felt nothing –as usual. He was strange like that, but it didn't occur to him to mind. He was just built that way he guessed, and he thought that was fine, that he didn't need to change that about himself. Feelings got in the way, what good was sensation when it in the end would only bring pain? That was what Ulquiorra thought.
He was out on the town tonight, as he was most nights due to new working hours at that job he despised. Ulquiorra was working for the most horrid boss at the company; the old one had left and put that control freak in charge. He didn't like the new boss since he could no longer work the hours he wanted, he had to do every single thing according to this new guy's style and heaven forbid if one little thing was out of line –to the new boss it meant the whole company would fall apart apparently. He missed the creative licence that used to be allowed for his work -that was how he had become the top human resource there; it looked like the kiss-asses were going to take over now. He wouldn't pander though, it wasn't his style.
Soon Ulquiorra had reached his destination. He looked up at the dim red and yellow lights that lit the street and the bright neon signs. The place he was headed to was a little more discreet, small and tucked away behind the more trashy looking bars and clubs and brothels. The Storm was a small dark night club where you could find just about any fetish you wanted –Ulquiorra wasn't especially kinky in any way, he was, however, curious. And what was he curious about you may ask? A certain spikey, ice-haired, ocean-eyed little someone who worked the floor at The Storm…
That certain someone was now dressed in the tackiest uniform you could imagine. He was made to wear tight rock-star black leather pants, a white silk V collared button-down shirt, and a chunky faux gold chain. Poor Toshiro was subjected to this attire every night from 7pm to 2am, since it was the boss' outfit of choice for him, and yes, this boss' name was Urahara. The other owners of The Storm club, Juushiro and Shunsui, were both a little more forgiving on the whole uniform thing but Urahara stood firmly on Toshiro's current outfit, claiming it was what the customers wanted –and he certainly wasn't wrong, but the kinds of people who liked it were definitely the 'wrong' kind of people.
Toshiro did his best despite the less than desirable dress, the still present sense of something hanging over him, and the awful customers as he needed the money. It was not easy to pay the rent and bills as an orphan fresh out of school. He would have been okay if he had known his parents or if there had been a trust made for him, but he was abandoned and so no such luck. Everything he had, he had made for himself. He only lived on the basics too, after his ex, Shuhei, had kicked him out. It had been a long while since then –over a year now. Toshiro had seen it coming but it didn't make life any easier being out of house and home. Right now he rented with his roommates Ichigo and Renji, but he didn't think he could handle those two much longer… They honestly drove him nuts. Their sexual tension was killing him. He wished he could just tell them to shut up and get together already but they were in that phase where they liked each other though neither one knew it about the other.
Toshiro sighed and flipped the stray lock of hair out of his eyes as he continued on his drink serving route. He was trying to avoid the bar as much as he could as some grade A perverts were hanging around. He knew they were just waiting for him so he hoped no one was after him to make an order for a while. From unfortunate experience, Toshiro had learnt that no matter how long he made them wait they would still get what they were after. He was just trying to delay the inevitable really.
It seemed that luck was not on his side tonight either as the evening began to pick up and he soon had three rounds of drinks to deliver, which meant time at the bar, which in turn meant time to get felt up… He sighed softly once more and turned to walk back to the bar, giving the men as wide a berth as he could which was difficult in the now slowly filling space, and just as he thought he was safe he felt a most distinct feeling of a large hand on a very… private place (Granted it wasn't so private in these tight leather pants). He frowned and squeezed his eyes shut as the hand gripped his junk, trying not to pull away. He had to let them do it, it was the house rules. The customer is always right and when he said something and they denied it, it was him who got punished.
Ulquiorra had just entered The Storm as Toshiro began his shift. He had gone to the back of the club, sitting in his elevated corner booth where he could watch over what was going on in the room without being watched back. His eyes were trained on the boy in the leather and silk that was tending the room's other booths, serving them drinks and nibbles. He had begun to notice a pattern over the times he had been working when Ulquiorra had come here. The boy would work almost overly efficiently until around an hour and half to two hours into his shift where he would then seem to lag and avoid the customers around the bar like the plague. It was unusual to say the least, and he had yet to be able to see the cause of this strange behaviour exhibited by the object of his mild curiosity.
He continued to watch the teal-eyed teen with that neutral expression he always seemed to hold. It wasn't strange to watch something if it held interest was it? To Ulquiorra it was about as normal to stare at a person as it was to stare at a TV screen.
It was easier to tell tonight from the late coming crowd what the cause of the unusual behaviour of his new object of interest, he could see it had something to do with the crowded bar, though why this was so was yet to be made clear to him. He watched as the boy looked over his shoulder at the men there every few minutes like he was hoping for someone to arrive -or someone to leave. Then the orders really started coming in as it got later and the casual drinkers were moving out while the clubbers were moving in.
Ulquiorra shifted slightly in his booth to get a better view of what was happening at this bar, it seemed the timing was perfect as he still had a clear path of vision down to the boy as he skirted obviously around the group. The attempt failed though as the frosty haired boy was pushed toward them by an oncoming group of people. It was then that Ulquiorra saw it, that hand that snaked around his object's waist to grab his...
Ugh, how repulsive! He would not let that boy be touched by such slimy filthy paws. -why he wouldn't let it happen would have to remain unanswered in his mind for now as there was the more pressing matter of that boy being felt up to be attended to.
Performing smoothly a surprisingly quick yet somehow seemingly casual walk down the steps and over to the bar, Ulquiorra made his way to the group, then slid his arm around Toshiro's shoulder fluidly and pulled him away from the touch with a glare at the pervert over his shoulder. It all contributed to one rather convincing -unintentional- acting performance like a possessive lover would. A seemingly impossible feat for one who does not feel emotion or any sensation even remotely close to love.
Toshiro flinched in surprise at the touch but does not question it as the safety it seemed to promise was too good an offer to pass up. He blushed softly a light shade of pink and looked down at his feet as he was led away from the group at the bar. "Th-thank..." He mumbled to his saviour, not looking up until it came time to say the second part of his sentence. His dark turquoise eyes widen in surprise. He knew his saviour; he had been his senior when Toshiro had been a junior. He had also been his secret love for the whole time they spent together at that high school. His Ulquiorra. "...you..." He mumbled even softer and with more emotion now. Ulquiorra had never even known his name but for Toshiro it was like a tidal wave of memories came flooding back. And there it was, that shiver ran through him now more powerful than ever, this was what it had been a forewarning of it seemed.
There was a slight frown on Ulquiorra's face as he looked down into those ocean-eyes. "You should not let them touch you." He said plainly in his cold unfeeling voice. His hand had dropped back limply to his side and he was now casually towering over the younger man. Why did he get the idea that the boy seemed to think he knew him from somewhere...