The birds were chirping merrily in the lush, green trees as a black haired man and a reddish-orange haired young woman slowly walked through the park in the bright, midday sun. It was a perfect day. The sun was beating its warm rays down onto the gray sidewalk, the air was fresh, there was a slight breeze that ruffled their hair as it carried the scent of newly cut grass, you could hear sound of running water coming from the stream up ahead, and the various shades of pink, violate, red, white, yellow, orange, and blue flowers turned the vast, emerald ocean into a breathtaking canvas splattered with a beautiful array of color. There was not a single thing in the world that could have made this day any better.
"Are you nervous?" the black haired man asked; his bright green eyes glancing down at the woman wrapped in his arm. He was wearing a pair of faded, blue jeans, a black belt, and a loose, black t-shirt that stretched slightly over his chest and shoulders. The woman had suggested that he wear a lighter colored shirt, but he had assured that he would be fine. Now he was beginning to regret not taking her advice.
"Nervous?" the young red head repeated. She was wearing a light yellow sundress, tan sandals, and a white, button up t-shirt which she had left open. Her sparkling, gray eyes looked up into the man's face as she smiled warmly. "Why would I be nervous?"
"The wedding is in less then a week," the man informed, keeping his voice monotone. "I have not been in a wedding ceremony in over four-hundred years, but I know for a fact that usually about this time the bride-to-be tends to get a little restless."
The girl smiled and laughed sweetly. "Come on, Ulquiorra. Do I honestly look like I'm nervous? If anything, I'm more excited!" She rushed ahead and twirled elegantly. Her sundress raising slightly by the sudden updraft. "Graduation is tomorrow, and the wedding is in six days. How can I be nervous?"
"How could someone not be nervous?" Ulquiorra thought amusingly. His eyes closed and a slight smile formed on his lips. "In every family I have been in up until now any, and every, wedding caused everyone to practically go insane, yet you have somehow kept a level head all these months. That is one thing I admire about you, Orihime."
His thoughts were interrupted by Orihime threading her arm through his and leaning her head on his shoulder. The scent of strawberries emanating from her hair wafted to his nose and fogged his brain with the intoxicating aroma. How he had managed to keep his promise, and leave her chaste, was beyond him.
They walked pass a couple sitting on a bench. They were cooing over an infant dressed in a white dress, wrapped in a pink and yellow blanket as most newborns are. The child had light brown, almost blonde, hair identical to the woman holding her and the man's nose. It was not an ugly child, but Ulquiorra could not quite see what the new parents were so excited about.
Orihime glanced back at the family and sighed. She pressed her head against his shoulder and gently rubbed her hair on his shirt.
"Is something wrong?" he asked; a small riptide of worry swirling in his heart.
"No," Orihime smiled slightly and quickly took a second glance at the distant couple and their newborn, "nothing's wrong."
Ulquiorra glanced back and looked down at the woman by his side. "Do you wish for a child?"
Orihime's face exploded in fire as she blushed five shades of red at once. "N-no! Well, yes, maybe, but not now! I'm too young for something like that! We're too young! I'm just finishing high school! There are so many things I want to do before I consider having a baby and starting a family!" She felt Ulquiorra pull his arm away from hers and wrap it around her waist.
"Technically, I am four-hundred and nineteen to four-hundred and twenty years old," Ulquiorra said humorously. "I am not too young to be fathering a child. Actually, I should have been a father quite some time ago. And, had I not have become a mercenary, I would have."
"I know that," Orihime sighed. The thought of Ulquiorra being eighteen, or even sixteen, and married to another woman sent short bursts of jealousy pulsing through her body; imagining him being the father of another woman's child wasn't helping either. "It's just, I can't help but feel curious about what it's like, being a mother and all. I'm the youngest. I never got to experience what it was like to see my mom go through all of the steps of pregnancy."
"If that is all you are worried about, you did not miss much," Ulquiorra replied. "It is foggy, but I can remember a few things my mother did when she was still harboring Lena in her womb. She was sick, a lot, and had very strange tastes in food. And when Lena started to kick her from the inside, she had me place my hand on her swollen belly so I could feel her."
He looked down at his hand and twitched the tips of his fingers towards his palm slightly. "If anything, that was the most exciting part of her entire pregnancy; feeling Lena kick like that." He twitched his fingers again and marveled at how much it felt like the kick he had experienced all those centuries ago.
Orihime gazed at his hand in mystified wonder. "What did it feel like?"
Ulquiorra smiled slightly and gently pressed his hand to her stomach. "I suppose it felt kind of like this," he gently twitched his hand so his muscles would contract on her belly, "only from the inside."
Orihime's eyes widened slightly in awe. Now she at least had an idea of what it felt like. It was a strange, pulsing feeling from the inside.
She looked up and noticed that a few people were staring at them. "Ulquiorra," she quickly pulled his hand away, "stop. People are staring."
"What is your point?" Ulquiorra asked slightly confused as he straightened his back. "People always tend to stare."
"Yeah, but," Orihime took a quick glance at the group of middle-aged women staring at them with awe-struck faces, "no one's ever stared at us like that before. I think they might think I'm pregnant."
Ulquiorra gazed over at the group of woman huddled around a café table. They had exited the park and were now walking through the shopping district of Karakura Town. "So what if they are? You and I both know you are not in such a condition. What does it matter if a few overly nosy strangers make the wrong assumption that you are pregnant?"
"It's just-" Orihime was silenced by Ulquiorra placing a finger to her lips.
"I will not hear any of that," he warned. "You worry too much about what other people think. It is not healthy to try and make yourself liked by everyone. Besides," he gently pulled her past the café and nodded politely at the group of women, causing them to blush slightly, "I think they are more interested in how you and I ended up together."
Orihime glanced back at the blushing group of women. They were fussing amongst each other like a flock of old hens. "You have a point."
"Precisely," Ulquiorra checked his watch, "however, we had better hurry. Mr. and Mrs. Taka wished to meet with us for lunch. If we do not start making our way to the restaurant, we will be late."
"Oh no," Orihime exclaimed, "I forgot all about that!" She grabbed Ulquiorra's arm and pulled him eagerly down the street. "We got to get going! You remember what happened the last time we were late!"
Indeed he did. They had been invited to join Mr. and Mrs. Taka at a fancy restaurant for Valentine's Day, but they had gotten a little lost on the way there. When they finally arrived, Mrs. Taka lectured them with how important it was to be on time, or to at least call ahead of time to say that they were going to be late, etc. You could have sworn that she was about to send a search party to look for them by the way she was acting, and that was when they were five minutes late.
Even though they practically ran to the small café on the corner, Ulquiorra and Orihime were still two minutes late. Mrs. Taka was bouncing in her seat in anxiety while her husband sat back in his chair and read the Sports section in the newspaper. It was obvious that he was trying to ignore his wife's steadily increasing concern.
"There you two are!" she exclaimed as Orihime and Ulquiorra jogged up to the table placed under the café's awning. She entrapped the young red head in a spine, snapping hug while her husband stood up and shook Ulquiorra's hand. "I was beginning to think something horrible had happened!"
"Relax, Kaede," Mr. Taka said, rolling his eyes, "they're just a few minutes late. It's not like we've been waiting here for hours."
Mrs. Taka practically broke Orihime's neck as she stared in disbelief at her husband. "How can you say that, Nagato? What if they had gotten into an accident, got mugged, or even killed?"
"They're just two minutes late," Mr. Taka stressed. "It would be a completely different story if they had actually been an hour late."
"Oh, you're impossible! Do you know that?" Mrs. Taka exclaimed and sat down. "Anyway, let's all just enjoy a nice lunch."
Ulquiorra, Orihime, and Mr. Taka all sat down hesitantly.
"So, Orihime," Mrs. Taka said happily once their food arrived, "are you nervous?"
Orihime looked up from her plate and raised an eyebrow. "Nervous? Why is it that everyone's been asking me that question? I'm not nervous." She smiled as she answered the slightly annoying question. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, you two are getting married in six days," Mrs. Taka informed, motioning towards Ulquiorra, "and you haven't even figured out who you plan on walking you down the isle."
"Well, actually, I have." Orihime turned her attention to her landlord. "I was wondering if you would do me the honor of giving me away, Mr. Taka? And maybe, if it's not too much trouble, you could dance with me during the father-daughter dance?"
Mr. Taka's eyes widened and a slight shadow covered his eyes as he choked on his chicken sandwich. He pounded on his chest in a desperate attempt to dislodge the hunk of chicken wedged in his throat, but was only able to regain his oxygen intake when Ulquiorra gave him a swift slap on the back.
"You want me to give you away?" he asked, gasping for air.
Orihime smiled and nodded. "If it's not too much trouble, and, maybe, you could dance with me during the father-daughter dance? I know you're not my real dad, but you've kind of stepped in and taken over the role."
A tear formed in Mr. Taka's eye and he wiped it away. "Ah, these damn allergies," he swept the back of his hand over his eye. He turned his attention back to Orihime and smiled. "I'd be honored to fill in the role of father of the bride at your wedding, Orihime."
"You will? Oh, thank you, Mr. Taka," Orihime exclaimed and hugged him over the table. "Thank you, so much!"
Mr. Taka was taken aback by the sudden gesture, but smiled and hesitantly patted Orihime on the back. How could he have refused her request? His own daughter had died before she had even had the chance to get a boyfriend, much less married. Knowing that this young woman was so adamant about having him give her away sent a wave of euphoria through his body; there was no way he could have said no, even if he had wanted to.
Orihime sat down in her chair, smiling brightly, and nudged Ulquiorra's knee under the table. She had done her part. Now it was his turn to do his.
Ulquiorra glanced from Orihime to Mrs. Taka and cleared his throat. "Seeing as to how we are discussing the events that we will be partaking in after the wedding," he rubbed the back of his head, "and since I do not technically have a mother to dance with during the mother-son dance. I was wondering if you would consider dancing with a burden like me, Mrs. Taka?"
There was a high-pitched squeal as Mrs. Taka burst into tears and quickly rushed around the table to hug Ulquiorra tightly around the neck.
"Oh, dear, of course I will!" she sobbed. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do!" She sat down in her chair and wiped the steady stream of tears from her eyes. "First Orihime asks Nagato if he'll give her away, and now you're asking me to assume the role as your mother. I'm so happy right now," she fanned herself as a new wave of tears threatened to escape her eyes, "I can hardly contain it."
The rest of the day practically flew by as the four finished their lunch and walked down the busy shopping district. Orihime had been dragged into random shops that consisted of dresses, even though she already had her dress picked out, lingerie, and...other stores Ulquiorra had no desire whatsoever to find out what merchandise they sold. During these random shopping events, would take over to a bench or stand next to the store and talk with him.
"Six days, huh?" Mr. Taka asked. "Where are you two planning on having your honeymoon?"
Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow. "Honeymoon?"
Mr. Taka's eyes widened slightly. "Don't tell me, you don't know what a honeymoon is?"
Ulquiorra shook his head. He knew what honey was, he knew what the moon was, but something told him that a 'honeymoon' was different than what he was imagining.
"Well," Mr. Taka rubbed the back of his head, "I had a hunch you wouldn't know, but I never actually believed that someone your age wouldn't know what a honeymoon was. A honeymoon is where newlyweds go after their wedding to...uh...indulge themselves in the joys of the flesh. If you catch my drift."
Ulquiorra nodded. "It's a place they go to take part in sexual relations."
Mr. Taka flinched slightly at Ulquiorra's blunt explanation. "Yes, well," he coughed awkwardly, "at any rate. I had a feeling that you and Orihime might not have planned a honeymoon," he pulled two slips of paper out of his wallet and handed them to Ulquiorra, "I thought I'd plan a trip for you. You know, as a wedding present."
Ulquiorra took the two slips of paper and stared at them blankly. They were thick, black, laminated pieces of paper with a picture of a brilliant, red rose stamped neatly in the bottom right corner, and had "The Enchanted Rose" written in elegant letters across the top. "Not to sound rude, but what are these?"
"They're tickets for a week stay at The Enchanted Rose," Mr. Taka answered. "It's a very high-class hotel that's nearly impossible to book a room, unless you're rich or famous. My nephew took over the business after my brother passed away six years ago, so I pulled a few strings and had him reserve a special penthouse for you and Orihime."
Ulquiorra's eyes widened immensely. "Mr. Taka, how much money did you pay for this trip?"
Mr. Taka smiled proudly. "I didn't pay a single cent. My no good nephew owes me big for a few...situations I helped him out of when he was younger. I simply 'requested' a room, and here he gave me one of the finest suites in the entire hotel and a limousine to bring you two there when the reception's over."
A slight, awkward smile formed on Ulquiorra's lips as he laughed slightly. "You are one sly old fox, Mr. Taka," he complimented. "I never would have thought a man like you could ever execute such deceptions."
"You forget that I was the commanding officer of my entire platoon during the war," Mr. Taka chuckled. "It's was either learn to deceive those who were closest to you, or die."
Ulquiorra exhaled in silent laughter. He knew exactly how that was. "Thank you, Mr. Taka. I truly appreciate the gift, and I know Orihime will as well." He gently tucked the tickets in his wallet just as Orihime and Mrs. Taka walked out of the lingerie store; each of them were holding two bags in each hand.
"I take it you found something you liked?" Mr. Taka half joked as he and Ulquiorra stared at the eight bags filled with unknown items in both curiosity and slight fear.
"Oh, Orihime just looked so adorable in all of these. I couldn't help but get them for her," Mrs. Taka exclaimed happily. "You'll be thanking me later, Ulquiorra, dear." She winked at him discreetly.
Ulquiorra's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Mr. Taka looked at his watch.
"Well, we better be heading home," he said yawning. "It's getting late." He wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders and carried the four bags of merchandise she had bought for Orihime.
"Now, dear, none of those are mine," Mrs. Taka teased. "You'll have to give them to Orihime when we get back to the apartment."
"I know," Mr. Taka assured. "Besides, you don't need any of these things to get my attention." Mrs. Taka giggled slightly as he kissed her cheek.
Ulquiorra and Orihime shivered slightly at the thought of Mrs. Taka strutting around the small apartment wearing a questionable piece of clothing in front of her husband. It was almost enough to make them both throw up.
"Allow me," Ulquiorra said, quickly grabing the bags Orihime was carrying, as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
Orihime blushed slightly at the feel of his hand gently rubbing her hip as he pulled her close to him. She looked up at him and a wave of desire exploded through her body. The sun was setting behind them, lighting the sky ablaze with bold shades of orange, red, pink, and yellow. The fiery waves of fleeting sunlight were casting shadows where Ulquiorra's shirt contoured to his well toned muscles, and illuminated his face and eyes to the point where they were practically glowing. How she had managed to keep her innocence after all this time, was beyond her.
