[03/29/18] Chapter revised and updated.
Aloha!
Orihime was hiding from him.
Ulquiorra's eyes moved once again to the closed bathroom door. He was certain it'd been almost an hour since she disappeared inside. The shower had stopped long ago, the sink was no longer running, and surely she'd finished changing into her clothes. He'd anticipated this. Given her readiness last night, he wasn't sure what to expect the following morning, but her avoiding him certainly did not surprise him.
He still was not sure what her motive was for suggesting that he should kiss her should the situation present itself again, but if it was regret she was feeling today, then he needed to hear it from her.
He stood from the bed to confront her just as Orihime emerged from the bathroom. She was wearing a light-pink summer dress, her yellow swimsuit peeking through the straps. When she noticed him, she nearly jumped back inside.
Her smile was over-exaggerated. "Good morning! Did you sleep well?" Still smiling, she skirted around him and began packing a large tote as she jabbered aimlessly. The cycle involved asking him questions and not waiting for him to reply. As she spoke, both her hands and her gaze kept busy. It was clear this exercise of talking at him was a way to avoid talking with him. Ulquiorra decided he'd had enough.
Orihime's breath was stoppered midsentence the moment she felt the brush of his shirt against the back of her arm. His mouth so close to her ear she could feel his breath against her skin, he demanded, "Calm down, onna."
"I-I'm calm!" She squeaked, turning to face him and stepping away to place distance between them, almost tripping over her feet doing so.
"If you are having second thoughts—"
"I'm not!" This time she met his gaze head-on, her expression fiercely sincere. "Definitely not." The truth was, she could think of nothing else. It was driving her insane. Thoughts of when it would happen, how it would happen, and how it would feel to have his lips on hers just kept circling round and round in her mind, leaving her dizzy with dreamy want.
She wasn't avoiding him on purpose. It was just the anticipation of not knowing when their first kiss was going to happen leaving her jumpy and overexcited.
"Then how am I to understand why you are avoiding me?" Ulquiorra leveled her with a flat stare.
Feeling guilty that her behavior had caused him to worry, Orihime decided to admit the truth. "I guess I can't stop thinking about it."
The significance of it being her first was not lost on him, though the fact only served to further confuse him. It was his understanding that the woman was a bit of a romantic about these things, and he did not doubt that she had fantasized about her first kiss before ever meeting him. Ulquiorra also did not doubt that those fantasies involved an orange-haired shinigami. He did not understand why she was willing to forfeit the experience to him, all for the sake of protecting their charade of a marriage. "It was your suggestion, onna."
Embarrassed by the reminder, Orihime nodded.
He was not done. Permission to kiss her should it be required had not been all she'd proposed last night, and it was this that Ulquiorra could not keep from his mind. "It was also your suggestion that we practice."
She couldn't help it. Her gaze shifted to his mouth, her attention lost once again to the thought of what it would feel like against hers. She knew Ulquiorra was perceptive, and she wasn't naïve enough to believe that he wasn't currently skeptical of her motives. To practice kissing just in case they were pressured to do it in public was such a transparently stupid ruse, Orihime knew he wasn't buying it. Though she was apprehensive to know what he was really thinking, she doubted he would ever guess that her little scheme to kiss was because of her feelings for him.
"Pr-practicing will just help it look more real!" She improvised. If the ruse was stupid, her excuses may as well be, too. "You know what they say," she continued, laughing around her nerves. "Practice makes perfect!"
Ulquiorra wasn't bothered with how it would appear to others. The thoughts of strangers did not concern him; hers did. He needed to be sure this was what she wanted because the idea of kissing her only to discover that it made her uncomfortable left him feeling bleakly displeased.
He reached for her, and this time she did not flinch away. His thumb slipped along the delicate softness beneath her lower lip, his emerald gaze reading her as he asked, "Would it be helpful to begin now, onna?"
God, she wanted to say yes, but she also wanted her first kiss to be as perfect as she knew it would be with him. Right now, discussing it and laying out the terms just felt much too contractual. With fantastic effort, she somehow managed to beat back her impatience. She shook her head softly and his hand fell away from her face. "It should be spontaneous," she said, blushing. "The first time, at least."
Something in the way her eyes glimmered hopefully as she looked at him assuaged his concern, and Ulquiorra felt his worries calm. "Is that my responsibility?"
It took her a moment to understand that he was asking which one of them was meant to initiate the kiss. She glowed scarlet at the thought of her being the one initiating it. Not that she was against the idea, of course. She just couldn't imagine herself finding the courage. Though, she had to admit, she would've thought the same about what she'd said to him last night, too. Maybe she'd surprise herself again. "Either?" Was her frail answer.
Ulquiorra gave her a short nod to show he understood. Before withdrawing to the restroom, he left her with one last word. "Understand, onna, that I have no experience with this, either." Very purposefully, he dragged his gaze against her skin and watched as it pinked beneath his stare. "My limitations are yours."
Once he was out of sight, Orihime all but collapsed in a flustered heap on the floor. With one hand set to her burning cheek, she pressed the other over her heart as if the pressure of her palm would hold it still. Although Orihime didn't agree with Ami on all matters, she was undeniably right about one thing: Ulquiorra was definitely a natural at this.
Orihime was bouncing with excitement when they left the ship that morning. They'd finally arrived in Hawaii, their ship docked near Honolulu. It was blue skies and endless sun in the forecast, which made planning today's itinerary quite simple: they were going to the beach.
Hand-in-hand, the excited woman led her much-less-eager companion towards the bus parked in wait at the end of the expansive dock. They boarded to find it already cramped with passengers and smelling strongly of coconut-scented suntan lotion. Frequently, men would dare a peek at Orihime as they made their way towards the two empty seats at the back. Ulquiorra noticed. When they caught the disapproval in his cold stare, they looked away as if he'd slapped their hand.
The bus trundled along an ocean-side road for about thirty minutes before they arrived at Waikiki Beach. When they stepped out onto a whitewashed sidewalk, the temperature had noticeably increased. Almost immediately, Ulquiorra could feel sweat beading along his dark hairline.
The section of beach they'd been brought to was only accessible via reservation and was luckily part of their cruise itinerary. After being checked in with beach services at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, they were led through a beautiful lobby to the roped-off section of beach.
Orihime's delight was audible as she drank in the gorgeous view. The length of curved white-sand shoreline was entirely visible from where they were located, the scene absolutely picturesque against Honolulu's white cityscape and the proud glimpse of Diamond Head Crater in the distance. Tropical palms lined the promenade, serving to separate the beach from the open walkway behind them.
They were led to a set of lounge chairs. Ulquiorra sat down on the edge of one as Orihime began unloading her tote on the chair beside him.
"I bought these for you just in case you wanted them," she announced, taking out a pair of black sunglasses and offering them to him.
Already feeling annoyance with the glare of the sun against white sand, Ulquiorra took the glasses and slipped them on. He glanced at Orihime, catching her staring a moment too long.
"They look good on you," she assured him, her face slightly pink as she returned to digging through her bag for sunblock.
Ulquiorra didn't care how they looked. The only thing that currently concerned him was staying comfortable in surroundings that were making it torturously difficult. Unlike her, he was not suited to this amount of sun. From a basic physical standpoint, his paper skin lacked any natural resistance against being burned.
Annoyed with how heavy his clothing was beginning to feel as more and more moisture percolated against his skin, Ulquiorra removed his shirt and sighed, the ocean breeze providing immediate relief to his heated frame.
His efforts to cool himself were ridden ineffective the moment Orihime removed her dress, the pink fabric falling away from her flared hips and to her ankles. She was wearing the same yellow swimsuit as before, her figure on full display and essentially falling out of the suit. It was all he allowed himself to glimpse before forcing his attention to the ocean and the beachgoers enjoying the gentle waves.
"Don't forget to put this on," Orihime reminded him, passing him the sunblock when she was finished applying it herself. Her creamy skin was glistening with the oily substance, and Ulquiorra could not distract himself from the glimmering sheen smeared across her breasts. "Are you coming with me?"
Jarred by the sudden question, Ulquiorra completely forgot about the sunblock in his hand. "Where are you going?" She pointed towards the water at a small group of beachgoers receiving paddle-surf lessons. Nothing about the activity appealed to him, and he declined. "I will stay here, onna."
Excited to get in the water, Orihime didn't argue and Ulquiorra watched as she impatiently made her way over to the paddle-surfing end of the beach. He was not alone for fifteen minutes before someone approached him, their shadow thrown over him and providing his skin a brief reprieve from the sun.
"Want some company?" It was Miwako.
"No," he replied coolly.
"Don't be like that," she sighed, taking Orihime's seat beside him and stretching herself out. "I was abandoned, too." She pointed to the turquoise surf at her husband who was stomach-down on a surfboard, waiting for a large enough wave to ride.
He had not been abandoned, but correcting her would mean feeding into her attempt at starting a conversation, which he had no desire of doing. Remaining silent with the intention that it would drive her away, Ulquiorra glanced at what she was wearing because it kept gleaming aggravatingly in his peripheral. The bikini was made of a shiny silvery material and was essentially three tiny triangles held together by string. Straightaway, Ulquiorra felt much more favorable towards Orihime's swimsuit.
"Like what you see?" Miwako asked him, her tone surprised yet pleased as she sat up.
"Do not flatter yourself," he replied, returning his eyes to Orihime who was having a hard time balancing on her board in the constantly shifting surf. Behind his glasses, his gaze gentled.
Miwako joined him in watching the beautiful girl. Ulquiorra wasn't sure what to make of the quiet, but he had no inclination to disturb it. If she refused to leave, then the least she could do was be quiet enough for him to pretend she wasn't there.
"Some girls are just born lucky, I guess," she muttered with ill-disguised envy. Her eyes and the lack of context suggested she was referring to Orihime.
Ulquiorra felt tense in response to the comment. It was something he guessed strangers who did not know her thought often, despite being completely off the mark. The woman was not lucky in any respect other than in her appearance. Absent parents, her brother deceased, and forced to learn to survive independently when her peers were still fortunate enough not to was not Ulquiorra's understanding of lucky. But he did recognize why people would think this, because Orihime was always smiling. Even when the world was against her, she never allowed it to sway her optimism. The woman was not lucky; she was strong.
The least fortune could do in compensation for her struggle was make her beautiful. Ulquiorra could not resist appreciating this quality of hers, even if Orihime insisted on being stubbornly blind to it.
The briefest hint of a smirk curled his lip when Orihime lost her balance on the surfboard and fell sideways into the water with a splash. The surf instructor looked panicky for a moment before she resurfaced, her fiery hair plastered over her face and shoulders.
"You've got it bad," Miwako commented. She was grinning at him when he glanced over.
Whatever it was that he had bad, Ulquiorra did not have the chance to discover. His unwanted companion stood to leave, her attention on the approaching pair.
Orihime was casually grinning around the pain of her sprained ankle as she hobbled back to Ulquiorra, her arm slung around her surf instructor to help support her weight. She half-heartedly returned Miwako's wave as the other woman departed. Her smile faltered.
"Looks like I'm not cut out for surfing," she joked as the instructor passed her off to Ulquiorra. She hooked her arm around the back of his neck, her heart jumping into her throat when he gripped her waist to steady her.
"There's a small medical office inside the hotel lobby," the instructor informed them with sincere concern. "Do you need my assistance getting there?"
Orihime shook her head. "No, thank you! I think we can get there on our own."
The instructor left them. Ulquiorra waited until he was out of hearing distance to ask, "Is this something you can heal yourself?"
It was, but it wasn't necessary. The sprain was only minor, and the injury was more of a nuisance than anything. Although it would mean no more paddle surfing, Orihime was fine with that if it meant being held like this by Ulquiorra for the rest of the day. His hand held her waist firmly, his fingertips pressed to her skin. As she leaned into him, her heart thrilled at the sensation of so much of his skin against her own. She was in opportunistic heaven. "Too many people saw me fall, so it might look suspicious if I was suddenly healed," she improvised. "Do you think you can help me to the medical office?"
His reply was not immediate, his gaze on hers quiet as if once again seeing through her ruse. "Of course, onna."
So with Ulquiorra's aid, Orihime managed to reach the medical office where it was confirmed that she had nothing to worry about and that she would be fine by tomorrow as long as she kept her weight off of it. The medical assistant suggested no more swimming for the day, which immediately put a damper on Orihime's mood.
When they returned to the beach, her mood seemed to worsen. It was obvious by her quiet and the way she was pining over the turquoise surf. In fact, she was just about to give in and heal herself when Ulquiorra suggested something she couldn't believe.
"If you want to swim, onna, I will assist you."
The eagerness in her chocolate gaze when she looked over betrayed that this was exactly what she wanted. He'd suspected as much given her fickle reasons for not healing the sprain herself.
"Are you sure?" She asked, already reaching to loop her arm around his shoulders again.
"I'm sure."
The cool water provided immediate relief to Ulquiorra's clammy skin as he stepped into the surf with Orihime glued to his side. Once they were waist-deep, she was buoyant enough for him to relax his hold on her waist. With her arm linked around his, she very carefully settled her uninjured foot on the ocean floor.
Everything seemed fine until the roll of a large wave began to swell ahead of them. Orihime panicked as it swiftly approached, and she unthinkingly landed on her bad ankle. She winced, despite the wave's anticlimactic passing.
"Come here, onna," Ulquiorra ordered, pulling her closer by her arm.
She put up little resistance as he pulled her against him again. Shyly, she circled her arms around his neck. However, she nearly jumped out of her skin when he pulled her leg up around his hip. "Ulquiorra?!"
He leveled her with a disparaging stare as her knee locked against his hip. "Do not overreact. I am merely ensuring you do not place pressure on your injury."
"Still…" she mumbled, her face as red as a bad sunburn. "This is a little…"
She didn't want to say it, just in case he wasn't aware. His intentions were clearly innocent, and Orihime bit her lip and prayed her heart would steady. Surely he could feel how readily she reacted to him considering how closely she was pressed.
"Given all of the excuses you've been making to keep yourself in this position, I was under the impression this was what you wanted, onna." His words were a gentle tease against her ear. As expected, he felt her tense against him. "Or am I mistaken?"
It took her a moment, but when she pulled back to meet his gaze, her expression was flushed with forced naivety. "I don't know what you're talking about."
She was avoiding him again. Fine. If that was what she wanted, then he'd oblige her for now. Though he still couldn't make sense of her reasons for this strange behavior, he was intrigued enough to play along for the time being. Very carefully, he curled his fingers beneath her thigh and lifted her closer against him just to indulge in the hitch of her breathing against his collarbone.
"A-anyway," Orihime stuttered, desperate to change the topic and distract her mind from how overwhelming this all was. "What did Miwako want?"
"My company," he replied coolly, noticing the way Orihime's expression turned.
"Huh. I liked her swimsuit," she lied, feeling unkind. She didn't know why she felt so bothered, but something about returning to find Miwako with Ulquiorra again most definitely did bother her.
"Do not get any ideas, onna. This," his finger hooked beneath the back string of her swimsuit top, "is more than enough." Of course, he could do nothing to dissuade her should she decide to wear a similarly skimpy swimsuit, though the day it happened he would have to excuse himself from her company entirely. He already grappled to keep his gaze from her skin; he could not fathom how tempting she would be even more exposed than she was already.
Her back curved in surprise to his touch and her breasts pressed flush against his chest. Embarrassed, she mumbled, "I didn't think you noticed those kinds of things…"
"You make it impossible to ignore," he confessed, finding no issue in admitting the truth.
"Sorry."
"For what?" He questioned, capturing her gaze and not letting it go. "Do I seem uncomfortable, onna?"
She gently shook her head. As always, his directness was somehow comforting and she relaxed against him, despite her escalating heartbeat. Her eyes fluttered to his mouth and she bit into her lip, hoping that she was doing a decent job of disguising what she wanted.
She wasn't. Ulquiorra doubted she was conscious of it, but for the past however-many-minutes they'd been standing in the water like this, her fingertips had been playing nervously with the hair at his nape. It was quite obvious what she was thinking as her eyes dropped lower and her tongue peeked against her lip.
Recalling their agreement, he leaned closer just in case she decided she wanted to initiate what she was clearly so anxious for. He meant for the movement to be subtle enough for her not to notice, but immediately she blushed crimson.
"W-wait! I'm not ready," she implored breathlessly. "Just give me a second."
Ulquiorra made sure to hide his amusement behind the flatness of his green stare. He gave her the second she requested before deciding to tease her. Carefully, he lifted a hand from the water and slipped it beneath her chin. His wet thumb dragged beneath her lower lip, and she breathed shakily against it as he leaned closer.
"Ulquiorra, wait," she pleaded again, moving one of her hands to the front of his chest and applying pressure as if to physically halt him. "One more second."
"I am growing impatient, onna." The tease went right over her ginger head and she nodded in earnest understanding. Because she was so frazzled, she did not notice the gentleness of his gaze as he looked at her. Although he had no intention of kissing her at the moment, his eagerness for when he finally would was felt severely.
"Okay," she announced unevenly, closing her eyes and lifting her chin. "I'm ready."
Clearly she wasn't, and he had no desire to take advantage of her. What he did take advantage of was the excuse to comb his fingers into her hair, the tendrils soft and damp against his fingers as he curved his hand to the back of her head. His other hand settled against her waist beneath the water, and he indulged in the feel of her fingers curling against his skin. He leaned in and gently blew against her waiting mouth. "Do not lie, Orihime."
Her name sounded so good coming from his mouth. The sound dragged pleasantly along her spine and left heat in her belly. When she realized he wasn't going to kiss her, she opened her eyes and met his in silent question.
"You're too nervous, onna." His hand slipped from her hair to her neck where her pulse throbbed feverishly beneath his palm. Despite the cooling water, her skin was hot against his own.
"You are…too…?" The words stretched into a wispy question when she felt something cool brush against the back of her calf. A lance of hot pain immediately followed the sensation. She gasped, her other leg reflexively jumping up around Ulquiorra's other hip. "Ah!"
Unaware of what was happening, Ulquiorra could do nothing to prepare against the way her legs suddenly locked around his hips, the action pulling them flush in a way that even his most indecent fantasies were hesitant to tread. His hands moved to grip her hips to still her. "Onna—"
"Something stung me!" She exclaimed frantically, her mouth at his shoulder and her eyes searching the clear water.
"You there!" A stern voice behind them called, magnified by a plastic megaphone. It was a lifeguard, and she was looking scandalized by what she thought she was seeing. "This. Is. A. Family. Beach!"
Orihime forgot all about the pain of her sting as mortification overwhelmed her. It only worsened when she noticed the nearby swimmers who were inching away from them with looks of horrified disgust on their faces. Tongue-tied and knowing it would just sound like a lie if she tried to deny anything, she waved a surrendering hand at the lifeguard.
"We should go back," she suggested. Her hold around Ulquiorra loosened, her legs lowering from around his hips. She kept one hand against his forearm for support.
Seeing no reason to argue given her injuries and wilted enthusiasm after having been publicly shamed, Ulquiorra helped her return to their chairs where Orihime began to pack up their things.
"What happened, onna?" Ulquiorra asked pointedly, his gaze on her lower leg where her skin was enflamed with irritation and an angry pink.
For one flustered moment, Orihime thought he was referring to what the lifeguard had thought they were doing. When she realized he was inquiring about her sting, she calmed. "I think I got stung by a jellyfish," she said. His expression sought for further illustration. "They're these creatures with tentacles that sting you if you touch them. This is my first time getting stung by one." She found it kind of funny, but Ulquiorra didn't seem to think the same.
"Is it lethal?"
"No! Well, sometimes, but it depends—" Surprise silenced her when his hand gripped her wrist tightly and he pulled her towards the hotel. "Ulquiorra?!"
Along the divide where the sand met the whitewashed sidewalk was a canopied changing tent. Without hesitation, Ulquiorra moved aside the curtain to reveal an understandably shocked woman in the midst of slipping off her shirt. "Leave," he demanded.
Both the woman and Orihime's mouths dropped open at the forceful demand, the two of them so stunned by his behavior that they didn't know what to say. Rattled by the intrusion and looking absolutely petrified, the woman collected her things and dashed out of the tent.
Without further ado, Ulquiorra pulled Orihime inside.
"Ulquiorra—"
"Heal yourself," he ordered.
Her objection stilled in her throat. Even in the shadowy dark, she could see how wide his pupils were blown as his eyes caught and held hers. His hand remained around her wrist, his fingers firm and betraying what his lack of expression could not: he was worried about her.
"Do not make me say it again."
She shook her head. "I really don't think it's dangerous."
His tolerance had turned fragile and was on the verge of shattering. More than likely this was a severe overreaction; he was aware. He did not know enough about this world's dangers to properly gauge his reactions to them. At this moment, all he understood was that Orihime had been injured by something that she could not guarantee wasn't life threatening and she was the only one he trusted to remedy it.
His pulse was quick, and despite the stifling heat inside the tent, he felt cold. Unnerving thoughts of sleeping venom creeping through her bloodstream provoked his composure to break, and he gripped her wrist harder, unsure how to make her feel his urgency. "Orihime…"
The sound of her name on his tongue still managed to warm her. Her affection for him was overwhelming beneath this rare display of intense concern. Sighing softly, she acquiesced. "Okay."
Whether he was aware or not, gratitude and relief charged his gaze as he released his hold on her wrist and stepped back to give her space.
She smiled at him softly before reciting the command. "Souten Kisshun."
The inside of the tent glowed gold as Ayame and Shun'ō were summoned, the two spirits encircling her lower leg and drawing a half-oval barrier. Orihime sighed as the pain from her sprain and sting ebbed away until it was eventually gone entirely.
Once she was healed, the incantation finished, darkness returned to the tent.
"See? Good as…new…" Her words trailed off as Ulquiorra knelt before her, his hand inspecting her healed leg, his thumb brushing where the sting had been. He was so close that she could feel his breath blowing softly against her thigh. She curled her fingers into a weak fist to quell her trembling.
"I do not take threats to your life lightly, onna," he disclosed, the tenor of his voice pulling her gaze down to meet his. "Neither should you."
Orihime nodded, her ginger hair falling against her cheek and framing her flushed and impatient expression. He was scolding her, and it was making her feel hot in a very unexpected way. She could almost feel the moment her gaze turned excited as his continued to hold hers in the dark. She bit her lip, his thumb dragging against her skin with purpose this time.
And although it was dark, and her thoughts were chaotic and likely confused by desire, Orihime could've sworn Ulquiorra's mouth was about to brush the top of her knee just before the curtain of the tent opened.
"That's them!"
The lifeguard from earlier stared them down. Behind her stood the woman who Ulquiorra had scared out of this same tent. She hovered in the background, looking vindicated.
"One warning wasn't enough?" The lifeguard demanded, looking both aghast and irritated at the two of them.
Ulquiorra stood and locked their eyes. Orihime paled, recognizing that look and that it would not bode well for them if he spoke. The moment he opened his mouth to speak, she jumped to interrupt.
"We're sorry," she blurted, forcing regret into her expression. "You see, we just got married and—"
"That does not give you permission to copulate in public spaces."
Ulquiorra's irritation fell back. He could not understand what part of their situation suggested that they were doing anything inappropriate. He looked to Orihime, expecting her to be equally as confused. She wasn't.
"We weren't!" Orihime implored, knowing it was pointless. She wasn't crafty enough to think of a better excuse for them to be in this tent together, and she knew the truth would just make her sound like a bad liar.
"You are both banned from this beach," the lifeguard stated with cold dominion. "If I see either of you here again, I will contact the authorities and you will be charged with indecent exposure."
The threat of legal consequences pressured Orihime into compliance. Although she knew it was unfair and all just a big misunderstanding, she didn't have a believable enough excuse to argue their case. So she nodded and accepted the terms. "O-okay, we will get our stuff and go."
"Good."
Unable to meet Ulquiorra's questioning gaze, Orihime simply gripped his hand and returned to their beach chairs where she began to hurriedly pack their things.
It wasn't until evening, when they'd returned to their room on the ship that Ulquiorra realized something was wrong with his skin. It was burning and uncomfortably warm beneath his shirt, and it was driving him mad with discomfort. While Orihime was in the restroom, he carefully peeled off his shirt to inspect himself in the vanity mirror.
He frowned at the sight. His skin was absolutely fried.
Orihime gasped when she stepped back into the room. "How…? I'm sure I passed the sunscreen to you," she fretted as she inspected the blistering red canvas that was currently his back.
"You did," Ulquiorra assured her tiredly, his mouth thin against the stinging pain. "This is my fault, onna. I was careless." Adjusting to this world and this new body was proving to be more difficult than he'd anticipated. He was not accustomed to taking precautionary measures to protect himself from elements, which only made him more appreciative that he had Orihime there to guide him. From what he'd observed of the general populace, not all humans were as considerate and caring as she was.
"I'll heal you," Orihime offered readily. "Just lay down on your stomach, please."
Her readiness to heal him when she was so hesitant to heal herself did not go unnoticed by Ulquiorra as he settled onto the bed. With his head lying on her pillow, he watched as she knelt on the floor beside him.
"Souten Kisshun," she uttered for the second time that day.
What felt like a soothing warm blanket spread across his shoulders and back, and Ulquiorra relaxed as the pain from his sunburn eased. It was his second time experiencing the directness of her unique power, and he still found himself marveled by it, and especially her. The success of her power largely relied on her determination, and he found himself captivated by the intensity with which she was currently looking at him.
While she was distracted, he decided he'd confront her with something that had been on his mind since earlier. "What did that woman think we were doing, onna?"
As expected, Orihime tensed. She glanced at him, her face warming. "Copulating," she answered, repeating the lifeguard's very clinical term for it. The less sexy it sounded, the better for her heart.
He'd asked the wrong question. He understood what the lifeguard had accused them of; he was just having difficulty understanding why. She'd walked in on them in a position that was in no way indicative of sex, but jumped to the accusation anyway. "Explain to me how it appeared that way."
She shook her head, her teeth buried deep in her lower lip. "Ulquiorra, I can't."
"You won't," he corrected, his gaze challenging hers quietly. Her reservation was palpable, and it only further heightened his curiosity. His burn now healed and the process finished, Ulquiorra lifted himself onto his elbows to properly confront her. "If not you, then who should I ask to teach me these things, onna?"
Urahara-san, she wanted to reply. The internet. But she couldn't. It wasn't fair; especially after she'd assured him yesterday that he could ask her anything. He depended on her, and she did not want to give that up. Not to anyone. "How much did Urahara-san tell you?"
Ulquiorra reflected back on the very brief rundown of physical relationships Urahara-san had educated him on. The terminology and casualness with which it had been explained had not alluded to the reality of complexities Ulquiorra was discovering now. Urahara-san's clinical description of human intercourse made the act sound bland and only carried out as a means of producing offspring. His education had failed to prepare him for the involuntary way his body reacted to the slightest stimulus from Orihime, and Ulquiorra found himself lost on how to handle it. "Not enough."
She'd suspected this was the case. Orihime couldn't imagine Urahara-san voluntarily schooling Ulquiorra on all the ways people could touch each other. It looked like that was going to be her job. Okay. Fine. She could do this.
Taking a deep breath, she very slowly released it, hoping to relax some of her nerves. It was a lost cause. The moment her eyes met velveteen emerald, she was a goner. Her heart jumped into her throat and her fingers curled against her thighs. "Did none of the Espada ever…?"
It was a last-ditch effort. Maybe one of the Espada had been familiar with these things, and had mentioned them to Ulquiorra before. Maybe she wouldn't have to say anything too provocative, after all.
Ulquiorra's eyes moved over her face. As he spoke, his voice was patient. "I cannot speak to anyone's experience but my own."
She nodded, accepting defeat. "Okay, well, you know what s-sex is."
"I do."
"And you know what the purpose of it is, right?"
"Yes, onna."
"Well…" She moved her eyes to the ceiling. "People also touch each other for other reasons."
He knew that as well. He was not confused when it came to motivations for wanting to touch another. He understood that quite thoroughly, and felt the urge regularly around her. He felt it now as he drank in the rosy flush across her neck, his gaze briefly dropping to her thighs and sun-darkened skin. "I'm aware, onna."
"'kay," she uttered, feeling her face darken beneath the force of her blush. "Well, um, there are also different ways to do it…"
This was what he'd been asking. Powerfully attentive, his gaze held hers as she stumbled through her breathlessly shy explanation.
There was nowhere safe for Orihime to look that didn't cause her heart to leap dangerously. With Ulquiorra lying shirtless before her on their shared bed, his gaze penetrating in a way that was felt somewhere between her legs, the only place for her to look was the floor. "Sometimes you can use your…mouth," she mumbled, her words a mortified whisper. "And that's what she thought she saw."
Raw craving deepened the concentration of his stare as it moved to her mouth, reimagining the scenario from earlier when his own had been so close to her skin, and what it might be like to taste another part of her. Her words introduced to his greedy imagination possibilities that stoked the parts of him that wanted her carnally, and an increasingly familiar heat tingled beneath his skin. "I see."
Relieved he seemed to finally understand, Orihime picked herself off the floor and inched away. "A-anyway, I'm going to get some tea. Would you like me to bring you back anything?"
In that moment, Ulquiorra connected with her sudden need to be alone. She clearly needed a moment to compose herself, and he needed to take care of a physical inconvenience. "How long will you be gone?"
"Ten minutes?" She reconsidered when his eyes lifted to hers. Although he didn't say anything, she could practically feel the indication in his gaze. "Twenty? I might go up and get some fresh air," she suggested, feeling more and more like that was a fantastic idea.
Ulquiorra offered a stiff nod. "Fine. I will stay here, onna."
"O-okay," she agreed, already halfway out the door. "Then I'll see you in half an hour!"
Once in the hall, she fell back against the wall, her hand solidly over her heart as if to press it quiet. Is he—? Images of him flushed with need, his impassivity broken beneath the heat of desire as he relieved the reaction she'd inspired with her words flashed through her mind and she reddened, unable to quell her own excitement.
It was very likely it was just her own desires influencing her perspective, but…maybe not. Maybe Ulquiorra did feel the same physical need that everyone else did. Why wouldn't he? Why had she been so quick to write it off as a possibility? Was it possible that he could feel attraction for her, too?
Maybe, she concluded, her stomach light and her heart swelled with hope. It's possible.
She continued down the hall, smiling.
[03/29/18] Chapter revised and updated.
Please excuse inconsistencies in writing style, plot, dialogue and characterization in the following chapters. These will be addressed in future revisions and updates.
