Disclaimer: This is flash fiction (short stories under 300 words). I do not own Bleach or its Characters (though maybe in the future Tite Kubo will sell it to me when he's old and decrepit and I'm a crazy future cyborg chic.)
This was better. They talked about a lot, getting to know each other beneath layers of insults and a system developed to protect themselves. Orihime talked about everything, from her job at the bakery to her dream to go to medical school to her best friends. Ulquiorra talked about as much as he felt comfortable giving away, like his adopted nine brothers and sister and his job as a philosophy professor and his dream to work from home.
They talked for hours. Their food lay half eaten as they became more animated, louder and excited as they found out that both their parents were jerks and they both loved to read, Orihime admitted this shyly and he agreed readily. They talked about friends and drinks and siblings until the restaurant was starting to close and Ulquiorra insisted on taking the bill and helped Orihime into her coat. They stood together outside her apartment door again, still talking like teenagers on a first date.
It wasn't their first date, not really. It was just the most peaceful one they had had. "Next week?" Ulquiorra asked after their customary kiss and good-byes. Her grin was wide. "Next week for sure. Same time?" He nodded. "Same time." He said. Her grin widened. "Good. Can't come soon enough."
