Author's Note: WARNING: I know little to nothing about Bleach. I've never read the manga, or seen the anime, or anything like that. I know what I've been told by word of mouth, and hopefully that's enough to make this good.

So... Here we go... Please don't kill me...

(Requested by Avid Vampire Hunter, who actually writes very good Bleach fanfiction, so check her out)

"What are you doing?"

"Going outside."

"But it's raining."

"So?"

Ulquiorra merely watched as Orihime stepped out into the downpour. Her hair was gradually plastered to her arms and shirt, which soon joined her firey locks in hugging her body. She spread her arms wide and faced the sky, appearing to enjoy the feeling of the incessant water droplets.

He found himself slightly amused by her strange desires. Why she felt the need to stand outside in the rain was beyond him. However, as long as she was content, who was he to judge?

Orihime hugged her arms back into herself, still staring at the sky. The thick grey coverage above was largely unblemished, with divisions scattered broadly apart. Nothing in particular to look at, yet Ulquiorra could tell she was watching, almost searching. Her mind was nearly as energetic as her personality, so her thoughts could have been anywhere.

He leaned back into the couch, relaxing his body on the comfortable fabric. He observed her. Orihime was just standing still in the rain, staring off into space. Why? he mused. It was perhaps none of his business, but he couldn't help wondering what drove her to carry out such a strange act. Answers evaded him, to which he was not surprised. She was a curious girl; a red-headed maze that he would never navigate through, yet couldn't stay out of.

Orihime was thoroughly soaked with the sky's tears, as though she'd inadvertently stepped into a shower fully clothed. Ulquiorra's eyes traced the curves and contours of her form, easily displayed by said clothes clinging to her. He eventually settled on the back of her head and waited for her to turn around and come back inside.

What she did next was the opposite of that.

Orihime stepped further out into the storm, her bare feet taking her off of the harsh concrete patio and into the much more gentle grass.

Ulquiorra unconsciously made his way to the inner end of the door, the water-spattered glass the only thing separating him from the rain that was clearly touching Orihime in some way. His fingers hovered millimeters away from the chilled glass as he watched her wander yet further.

When she stopped, he followed. Shutting his dry refuge behind him, he too strode barefoot out into the grass, not particularly bothered by the rain pounding down against his equally bare torso. He came up silently behind her - not that much noise could be heard over the impact of each simultaneous drop - and slipped his arms around her waist. Orihime stiffened slightly in surprise, but only for a moment.

"It's raining, you know." She said, a bit distantly.

"Quite." Ulquiorra replied. His hands found hers, and he rested all twenty fingers lightly against her stomach.

Orihime nestled her head against his cheek, closing her captivating eyes in comfort. They breathed as one. For several minutes, as they were knowingly soaked to the bone, Ulquiorra almost forgot to wonder about the rain.

Almost.

"What is it about the rain?" He mumbled into her ear. "Why do you love it so much?"

His question opened her eyes, and she looked up at him very seriously.

"What is it about me?"

"What?"

Orihime took her hands back and turned to face him properly. One of those hands she placed delicately on his pale chest, and the other traced his jaw line. "Why do you love me so much?"

Ulquiorra was a bit taken aback by her question. As such, he didn't answer right away. But he did go back. His mind revisited everything they'd gone through together, everything they'd gone through alone. No one could say either of their lives had been easy, but always, she'd been there, whether she was in his eyes, or in his...heart.

He failed to conjure up any words for her, and instead procured the hand touching his face and placed both over the one on his chest. With the fourth hand, he pulled her in close and kissed her gently as thunder rolled above them.

After a short while, she began to drift away, but he wasn't finished. Keeping his one hand at the base of her back, he placed the other between her shoulder blades, caught in her slicked-down hair and keeping her near. He deepened the kiss and she responded in turn, sliding her hands up and around his neck. The rain poured ever more furiously around them now, and the ground beneath their feet was all but a lake bed, but it didn't matter.

He had no answer for her, not in words, but maybe she understood.