CHAPTER 11: T'was the Night Before Christmas
Ulquiorra had taken the station wagon, and Orihime did not want to strand Zommari without a car, so she took the bus to the mall. It was going to be a madhouse, she was sure of it. It was only a week before Christmas. Oh well, at least it wasn't Christmas Eve, she thought to herself.
Her first stop was the Christmas ornament shop. She and Ulquiorra had talked about personalized ornaments for each of the residents of the rectory, but she had another idea. She went inside and looked for the cheesiest ornament she could find, the kind that someone at the store would paint names on for you if you waited. She was faced with penguins, polar bears, snowmen, gingerbread men, elves, mariachi band guys… it was a tough choice. They were all equally ridiculous. In the end, she chose an ornament with three snowmen in front of a fireplace, which she thought was darkly humorous, and asked the shopkeeper to write the first name of each resident on the snowmen, and the year at the bottom where usually the family name would normally go. The ornament could potentially stay with the rectory as a memento of the residents there that year.
With a promise to return several minutes later, she went to the anchor department store on the far end of the mall and marched straight to menswear. She did Ulquiorra and Zommari's laundry, and she was not impressed with parts of their wardrobe, specifically their underwear and socks. Threadbare. Worn. Holey. It was ridiculous that grown men would wear such garbage. She picked out types that were the same or similar to the kind they normally wore, and bought the multipacks for savings.
She had some time to kill and window shopped a bit, stopping at a candle shop and smelling nearly every kind of candle there. She stopped at a tea shop and sipped their sample teas, telling the multitude of salespeople in the tiny place that she was "just browsing" repeatedly. She stopped at a fancy interior and furniture place and sat down on fancy leather sofas she would never be able to afford and ran her hands over chenille throw blankets, again telling shopkeepers she was "just browsing."
She looked at her phone and realized it was time to pick up her ornament, so she did, and then stopped at a bakery for some pastries for the next morning's breakfast, then walked toward the bus stop.
Ulquiorra's trip through the mall was busier. His first stop was at some custom engraving place where he had Zommari's name engraved on a small cross that could be hung up anywhere but Ulquiorra was going to present it as a Christmas decoration. The second thing he purchased was a small oval plaque made of glass or crystal, he wasn't too sure but he had the words, "As you wish..." carved into the surface. The man who ran the shop asked if Ulquiorra also wanted it to be a christmas ornament and he gave a slight nod. In reality he'd give her this gift in private.
His next stop was the local suit and tie place. He bought Zom a gorgeous butter yellow tie and then an emerald one for himself. It was Christmas after all. He was allowed to splurge a bit. He was walking past a jewelry store when something caught his eye. Ulquiorra walked past and then stopped. He turned around, coming back to the glittering display.
There were keychains-heart shaped keychains made with precious metals. He tried to think of some reason that Orihime would need a keychain but he had never seen her with a set of her own keys. She always had the rectory keys. His mouth twisted to the side as he stared hard at the trinket. In the end, Ulquiorra bought her the smallest heart shaped keychain and went back to the engraving place to have her name etched into the pinkish surface.
It wasn't much. The next store he went into was a giant department store that had women's clothing, bags, luggage and makeup on the first floor but if one rode the escalator up to the second floor there was the men's clothing, shoes and home goods like overpriced decorations and small appliances. He bought one of those single serve coffee makers along with a brand new, big name electric mixer. It was black which Ulquiorra thought went well with everything. His other choice was a pale pink or an electric orange. When he was done, he took his purchases to some gift wrapping station and paid for the people there to wrap the gifts up with plain brown paper and twine as he addressed each present. He had also picked up a fancy corkscrew for Zommari so the man would quit buying cheap ass boxed wine.
Once he was done at the mall he drove to the liquor store that Orihime had taken him to several times. The woman behind the counter eyed him as he browsed the shelves. Eventually he picked up a bottle of Four Roses, Jameson, and another expensive bottle of whisky for Orihime. Then he went around to the wines and picked up Zommari a nice bottle of red wine. Ulquiorra knew nothing about wine but he googled each of the wines he thought were interesting until he came upon one that got a good review. It was after he took all those bottles to the register that he went back for a bottle of amaretto and a six pack of cider.
The woman said nothing as she rang up everything. Ulquiorra kept a straight face as he pulled out a plain black credit card with a silver logo in the corner. All the other stores he had presented the card to had employees whispering and talking. They were fools. It was just a bank card from Italy. He didn't have his salary deposited into a regular bank in the States. It also seemed like a hassle to have the money sitting in there transferred to a new bank and having to set up a new account. It was problematic for people to see it though.
After his things were in bags, Ulquiorra put them in the back of the station wagon and drove back to the rectory. He pulled into the garage and made two trips into the house. One was to put the alcohol into the basement. He'd bought giftbags for each one and would wrap them later that night. The second trip was to grab the bags with the gifts he had bought at the mall which he arranged under the tree. There were two big boxes, a giftbag and a small box sitting there. It looked sad but this was the first time in about eleven years Ulquiorra even cared about Christmas. He had hidden the rest of the gifts he'd bought for Orihime.
When he was done with that he decided to go to his room and read. It would do him some good to just relax.
Wednesday came and went. He took confessions, money and information. The same thing happened on Saturday; more money, sins, and greasy people wanting to "atone" for their sins. He laughed when he saw Zommari poking around under the Christmas tree and scowling at the boxes. Ulquiorra had gotten several other small gifts for the other occupants of the rectory and even a gift card for Chad, the groundskeeper. It wasn't anything big. Ulquiorra got ready for the different masses and helped Zommari prepare for Sacred Heart's Christmas Eve service which would begin at six in the evening. The dark-haired priest did not like evening services. They seemed duller than usual and Zommari's voice had a droning effect. The only thing interesting about this service is the choir was going to perform. They usually came out of hiding once a month to sing for the parishioners.
Ulquiorra was nervous though. The next morning after Christmas Eve Mass, they would get up, pray, eat breakfast and then open the few gifts under the tree. Then there would be Christmas morning Mass and after that, the head priest, would throw his overnight bag into the van and drive to his parents house to visit, leaving the two to their own devices.
The dark-haired man once again gave the redhead space. He didn't want to seem too obvious around Orihime. He would help her clean up the kitchen at night and when the various meetings at the end of the day were done, he'd stare at her. Ulquiorra would go watch a movie. He would do laundry that he had to hide from the woman.
The morning of Christmas Eve, Ulquiorra came up behind Orihime as she was washing dishes. "Do you need help?" he said softly.
She had been up nearly all night, as she had been for most of the week previous, burning the wick at both ends. She had not brought her gifts down to the tree, instead having squirreled them away in her closet. Add to that, she had been doing double duty with the parish ministries in anticipation for Christmas; helping coordinate the children's Christmas pageant, cooking meals for the needy, meeting with the music coordinator, and stringing lights on more Christmas Trees that a parishioner brought in to add to the festive atmosphere. It was fun but exhausting.
When Ulquiorra offered to help, she could have kissed him. She looked at him with gratitude and affection and, frankly, sleep deprivation, written all over her face, and answered with a breathy, "Yes, please."
"Why don't you get some rest and I'll finish up in here. I found this recipe online for french toast bread pudding," he said, leading Orihime into the living room. Ulquiorra made her sit down on the couch. She looked worn out and he was sure his behaviour wasn't helping. "I could make breakfast tomorrow for morning, to give you a break."
"But you have mass," she protested.
"It's not hard to mix everything together in a bowl and let it sit in a pan in the refrigerator overnight," Ulquiorra stated. "All you would have to do is bake it the next morning."
She gave him kind of a goofy, lopsided smile. "Okay, mister, show me what you've got. I'm looking forward to this," she said, stretching her arms overhead and yawning. "If I'm not awake by noon, please kick me."
"I will do no such thing," he said walking back to the kitchen. Ulquiorra turned and looked at her. That nervous feeling was building in his stomach again. Everything was going to be okay. It would be fine. "I demand that you rest now."
Orihime watched him leave the living room, but by the time he was halfway through the dining room her eyes had closed and her cheek was laid out on her forearm on the arm of the sofa she was curled up on. She slept soundly until well past lunch, and woke up with drool on her arm and a sweater knit impression on her face.
"Oh no!" she shouted, standing and panicking, before she ran up the stairs, washed her face and started getting ready for mass. She wasn't going to be able to hide in the pews as usual this time. She had to put forth a little effort.
She dressed in a maroon velvet skirt and ivory blouse, curled her hair into more controlled waves, and put on some modest makeup. She had to get over to the church early for rehearsal.
Ulquiorra had been in the office doing some research and totally forgot about Orihime's request. He had done the dishes, swept the floor and made the bread pudding for the next morning. While he did all that he got to thinking. There had to be a way around everything. There had to be some loophole. There wasn't though.
He heard her yell and then footsteps pounding up the stairs. He exited the office and went upstairs, knocking on her door. "Orihime?"
"Yeah?" She asked awkwardly with bobby-pins stuck in her mouth as she did her hair.
"I'm gonna open the door," he said. Ulquiorra did as he said and poked his head into her room. "Sorry, I totally got sidetracked but everything is done. Do you feel rested?"
She put the last pin in place and stood, turning to face him with a smile, "Yes, thanks to you," she twirled around in a little circle, letting the skirt do its thing, and asked, "What do you think of the Christmas duds? Pretty fancy for me, right?"
Ulquiorra let his gaze travel over her, watching as she showed off for him. There was a hint of a smile there. "Uh, you look beautiful. Um, I was wondering if you weren't doing anything tomorrow, I know it's Christmas but, I was wondering if you'd like to go somewhere with me."
She stopped playing around and answered without a pause, " Of course. Where do you want to go?"
"The cemetery," he said.
Her smile dropped for a moment, not because she was upset, but because she was surprised, then it returned as she nodded. "That's… perfect."
Ulquiorra was momentarily shocked by her agreement and didn't know what to say. To be honest, he should have paid his respect to those three people long ago. "Okay," he stated. "Um, after we get back I have some personal gifts for you."
She grinned. "Same," she said, tilting her head a bit to the side. "Hey, do you mind helping me for a second? I have a cross necklace I'd like to wear tonight but I can never get the clasp by myself."
He held his hand out for the necklace and understood what Orihime meant. The clasp was tiny. Holding up a finger he went next door to his room and rummaged around the bedside table until he came back with what he was looking for. Ulquiorra didn't wear them in front of anyone so that's why he mostly read in his room. He unfolded the black framed glasses and slipped them on his face while he figured out the necklace.
Orihime's face lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw Ulquiorra's reflection in the mirror with the glasses on. "You never told me you wore glasses!" she enthused.
He sighed and looked at her. "I wear contacts most of the time but occasionally when I don't have them in I wear glasses. Don't tell me you like them," Ulquiorra said as he fiddled with the necklace.
Her grin grew increasingly creepy and dorky, her chin slightly disappearing into her neck, as she said, "Yyessss… it is a nice look for you," in a cringe-inducing unplaceable accent.
Ulquiorra looked at her face and laughed. Huh, maybe he'd wear them more often then. "I look like a nerd. Are you ready for me to put this on?"
"A hot nerd…" she said ultra quietly to herself before quickly chirping in a normal volume, "Yep!" and brought her hands behind her head, gathering up her hair and pulling it off of her neck.
Standing behind her, Ulquiorra placed the necklace over her head and drew the two ends up, then threaded them through the space between her neck and arms. He carefully joined the two ends, almost dropping one side. It took about thirty seconds for him to actually get the thing together. He lingered there, his thumb brushing the side of her neck for a moment before his pale hand swept the few remaining wisps of hair to the side. "Orihime," Ulquiorra whispered.
"Yes?" she answered softly.
He leaned down and touched his lips to the nape of her neck. It was bold and reckless but she had been driving him crazy for months. When he straightened, he stared at her reflection but said nothing.
The tip of her nose to the tips of her ears tingled and felt hot. Her eyes slowly rose to his in the mirror and she asked in a whisper, "What was that for?"
"Good luck tonight."
Her eyes smiled first, but her lips quickly followed. The color that the first tingling reaction initiated appeared on her cheeks as she looked down and answered, "Thank you."
He gave her a small smile. "I'll leave you to finish preparing for this evening," Ulquiorra said, with shaky sounding words. He had no clue why he did that but it was an impulse and as far as he knew, he had absolutely no control of that around her.
Rehearsals went well and before she knew it, the pews were filled and Orihime stood in the choir loft with the other members of the choral group and the organist instead of her normal spot in the second or third pew from the front of the church. She was nervous. She kept finding herself fiddling with the cross on the necklace Ulquiorra had helped her wear. She could not stop thinking about how it felt; his soft, warm lips on her neck, the puff of breath that followed. She was having a hard time concentrating. It was just as well; she would otherwise have been getting increasingly nervous for her solo that evening, where she would be leading the choir in a verse of the Adeste Fidelis.
She watched the processional, led by an altar boy and girl, then Ulquiorra, and Zommari following last as the choir led the congregation in an opening hymn. Even from as far away as she was, and even with all the Christmas decoration splendor shining from every corner and lining every wall of the church, she couldn't take her eyes off Ulquiorra, in his black-framed glasses. She took a deep breath and bit her lip. Damn.
Ulquiorra turned for a moment and caught her eye, locking his gaze with Orihime's. He tapped the frame of the glasses and gave her a half smile. As he walked up the aisle between the pews he heard what people said and whispered. They were talking about him and how handsome he looked. He decided not to put the contacts in and ignored the curious looks from his boss.
"I didn't know you wore glasses," Zommari had quietly intoned.
"They're for reading."
Zommari started droning on and Ulquiorra would quickly glance around the church but still, his eyes fell on Orihime.
A young woman sitting next to Orihime leaned in toward her and whispered, "Um, is it just me, or is Father Cifer looking, um… kinda foxy tonight?"
Orihime had to cover her mouth to hold in the snort that wanted to escape her nose. She leaned forward, her hair falling over her shoulders a bit, before she leaned back and hissed in the girl's ear, "Um, that's inappropriate!" Shen then paused two full seconds for effect and whispered, "Totally."
Christmas Eve Mass wasn't much different than any other ceremony, except a little bit more pomp and circumstance. Both priests were dressed in their finest for tonight. There were more prayers said and no announcements but still it was tedious to Ulquiorra. He took a deep breath as Zommari sat down. This was Ulquiorra's first time speaking in front of the congregation but he stood up straight and walked over to the pulpit with his bible. He saw a lot of people whispering to each other.
Why had he let Zommari talk him into this? It was just a simple Psalm but still, he felt like everyone knew what was going through his mind and what he had been thinking. Ulquiorra felt like everyone knew that he was in love with a certain redhead in the church.
He cleared his throat and opened the book, letting it fall to the correct page. He began to read the verse that the other priest had picked out and minutes later, the green eyed priest sat back down, shaking slightly. He fudged a couple of words and tripped over things but he'd done alright.
Orihime listened to Ulquiorra's reading with rapt attention, smiling slightly at his blunders and otherwise studying his words. She found herself not listening to the message of the words, but to the timbre in his voice, the pattern of his breathing, and the way his lips and tongue would form each sound. She was mesmerized, so much so that when he finished, she realized that she had been leaning forward into the amplified sound of his voice coming from the speakers, and had to straighten back up.
Ulquiorra didn't dare look at Orihime; she probably thought he had flubbed things up. Zommari said a few more things and then signaled for the choir. It was only then his eyes searched for her.
Adeste Fidelis, known in English as Oh Come All Ye Faithful, was a crowd favorite at Sacred Heart. The choir started the first verse in English, and the cantor signaled the congregation to join in song. The second time around the choir switched to Latin, and Orihime stood before the other members and sang a verse on her own, while the remainder of the chorus hummed in the background. She sang well; her voice was clear and pretty, and she pronounced the words properly. After her little solo she stepped back and rejoined the rest of the choir until the song ended, blushing madly in self-conscious embarrassment as other soloists took their turns.
Zommari continued speaking for another half-hour until he dismissed the congregation, saying the same thing he did every mass. The crowd responded with their lines. It was only as mass came to a closes and Ulquiorra stood up that he saw Aizen, Retsu and his sisters in the crowd. Shit. He did what he normally did and went outside to say goodbye to those who came, shaking hands and helping the elderly down the steps. He swallowed once he saw Aizen and his mother standing there.
His father was speaking to Zommari with a frown on his face. It was the woman with long black hair that drew him away, pulling him along. "Ulquiorra," Retsu said, giving him a warm hug.
He'd not seen this woman in a dozen years and she wanted to act like it had been only a week. Ulquiorra gently pushed her away. "Thank you for coming tonight. Drive safely."
"Really, Ulquiorra? You're going to treat your mother like that?"
The priest could see his sisters exchange glances; Tier looked worried. "My apologies, I have a lot of people to help and-"
"Are we going to see you and Orihime tomorrow for dinner?"
"No."
"Oh? Why not?"
"Zommari is visiting his family and Orihime is going to be visiting some people at the hospital or something," Ulquiorra said. He had to quickly think of something to tell them. He knew it was a lie and instantly guilt overcame him.
Aizen gave him a look and then smiled. "How charitable," he said and clapped Ulquiorra on the shoulder. "Come on girls."
Ulquiorra watched them leave before he finished his task. His stomach was in knots by the time he entered the church again.
Orihime had been graciously accepting compliments on her solo after the recessional and almost didn't notice Aizen and family, and probably would not have if Nel hadn't raised an arm over her head, waving and calling, "Yoo-hoo, Orihime! Down here. Merry Christmas!" before being herded down the aisle by Tier. Orihime smiled widely and waved back, and when Aizen's head popped up at the sound of her name, she kept that grin plastered on and flashed her eyebrows at him for good measure, and much to her relief he granted her a small smile in return. When the family was out of sight, she sighed in relief, said her goodnights to the other singers, and came down to spiral steps of the tower to the side door of the church entrance, watching Ulquiorra and Aizen's family interact from the shadows.
Zommari had done his job by taking off with the wine again. Ulquiorra didn't have much to clean up. He extinguished all the candles. He stood in the empty, dark church and sighed loudly. Seeing Aizen had brought a feeling of uneasiness to him. What had once been a delightful, joyous day had been tainted by his so-called father. He grabbed his coat and walked out of the church, making sure to lock the door behind him and walked inside of the rectory. He stomped the snow off of his shoes and took off his outerwear, hanging it on the coat rack that had been installed in the mudroom. He put his hat and his scarf there too.
Walking into the kitchen, Ulquiorra could hear Zommari in his office talking to someone. The bald priest was probably on the phone. Oh, well.
The green eyed priest climbed the stairs to his room, making sure to hang up the cassock so that it didn't wrinkle. The clergy shirt was hung up along with that damn collar. Once Ulquiorra was standing in just the boxer-briefs he wore, he stretched his body up and then down. For some reason he felt more at ease out of his "work" attire. It didn't use to be that way. Twisting his body Ulquiorra leaned his body back. His spine popped and cracked.
All the tension seemed to melt away. He got dressed in warm fleece pajama pants, the warmest socks he could find and a long sleeve t-shirt before heading back downstairs. He was going to get a cup of coffee. It was his custom to stay up late on Christmas Eve praying, and after the rollercoaster kind of day he had, he needed the caffeine.
Orihime was in the kitchen as Ulquiorra came downstairs, as she seemed to be a lot of the time, making herself some spiked eggnog. She was still dressed as she was at mass. She felt like since she had put in the effort to look nice, she might as well make the most of it. She was admiring her reflection in the window above the sink when Ulquiorra came in.
"Hey," he said, glancing at her and then looking away. "What do you got?"
"Eggnog. Want to try some?" Orihime asked, holding out her mug to him innocently.
Ulquiorra raised his eyebrows and then looked at the mug. Knowing her there was alcohol in that cup. He leaned forward and brought his lips to the edge of it and took a small sip. "What'd you put in it?" He asked.
"Brandy. Not too much. Just to warm me up," she said, smiling and taking a small sip of her own.
"I could warm you up," Ulquiorra said. His face colored after the words left his mouth. It had been an automatic response. "Uh, I was going to get some coffee."
She looked at him over the brim of her cup and nodded, letting his flirty words float past her. She was starting to get used to him acting that way around her, and honestly, she liked it as much as it confused and sometimes troubled her. She took another sip and then took the cup away from her face and asked, "Won't that keep you up all night?"
He shrugged. "I usually stay up late on Christmas Eve anyway. It's nice just sitting in the quiet watching the world go to sleep or laying under a Christmas tree full of twinkling lights."
Shit.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit, she thought to herself. That was the moment. There was nothing particularly special about it; maybe it was a culmination of everything that came before; maybe it was just the unguarded way he said it or the boyish, romantic charm of his sentiment, but that was the moment she knew: she was in love with him.
She swallowed hard. "That sounds lovely," she finally replied.
Ulquiorra nodded and gave her a half smile, bringing one side of his mouth up. He decided to forgo the coffee and instead got himself some eggnog without the alcohol in it. He had to help Zom with Mass tomorrow morning. "It's nice. I usually pray on Christmas Eve until midnight, then I either go to bed or stay up watching lame television. I think this year I might go to bed after I'm finished."
She smiled in response and said, "Well if you do stay up, eggnog also makes an excellent coffee creamer. I recommend it. I may have some in the morning." She looked back down into her cup. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to feel this way. She wasn't supposed to just accept it and not have any expectation that it would go away. Especially when there was no hope for them; no hope for her. He would never return those feelings. He couldn't, even if he wanted to. She sighed. "I think after this cup I may go to bed. I want to sit by the tree for awhile first, though."
"I might join you in the eggnog as coffee creamer camp. This is really good stuff," Ulquiorra stated taking a drink from his own cup. He looked at her face; studying the way she held herself. Something was different about her. "Do you want me to join you or… I can let you have the tree to yourself."
"No, there is something sad about being alone with a tree, sometimes. Your company is always welcome, anyway," she said, her tone carrying a tiny hint of defeat. She was going to be miserable either way. She may as well be miserable in his presence.
Ulquiorra heard the office door open and took a step back from Orihime. It was a good thing he did because Zommari popped in a moment later. "I'm going to bed," the older man said. "You two behave and try not to get too crazy. Santa's watching."
The younger male scowled at his boss and shook his head. "You're old Zom, go to bed before you can't get up the stairs anymore."
"Tch," Zommari scoffed. He nodded at them before heading up the stairs.
"He's funny," Orihime commented darkly. "Shall we?" She started toward the parlor.
Ulquiorra watched her walk away before he followed her. Something was off. "Orihime," he said before he sat down on the floor. "What's wrong?"
She sat on a chair to his side. She smiled and shook her head. She was afraid to speak, lest the words she could never say might come spilling out.
He frowned but Ulquiorra had to respect that she didn't want to talk to him about it. Looking up at her, he said, "You did great tonight. You have a lovely voice when not screaming angry Irish words at people."
She chuckled at that. Then she had an idea, something that might ease her angst a bit. "Thank you, but angry Irish? Hmm, I don't remember any angry Irish. Wait, was it Mo ghrá thú ? or Tá grá agam duit ? Oh- or was it Tá mé i ngrá leat ?" All Of these phrases were, of course, variants of 'I love you.'
"What? I have no clue what you said that night. I just remember you screaming at the snow and then threateningly stomping towards me," Ulquiorra said. He leaned back against the chair, his shoulder touching her leg.
"Oh, I should have warned you, that is just the song and dance of my people," she said, snickering softly. "It must have been quite the display. Usually, we reserve that one for human sacrifices and retirement parties; things like that."
"Well, I'm not a virgin so the human sacrifice would have have been pointless," Ulquiorra replied. He tilted his head back and looked at her.
She snorted. "You assume a lot. The sacrifice is for the purity of spirit, not purity of body." She laughed at herself; she was being stupid and transparent. "Anyway, stupid jokes aside, I'm sorry I freaked you out."
"You didn't freak me out," he replied. Ulquiorra turned and then got to his knees. He put his hands on the arms of the chair. His green eyes searched her face as if memorizing each detail of it. "I freaked myself out that night. I was so close to losing control."
She was trying to keep things lighthearted. She didn't need to fall to pieces or confess her love. She studied his face a moment and then responded in hushed tones, "Are you the Hulk?"
He chuckled then shook his head. She obviously did not want to talk about this. "If I were a comic book character, I'd be Deadpool; the antihero."
"What makes you say that," she asked, looking at his hands on the armrests of the chair.
Ulquiorra tilted his head and thought for a moment. "I lack the conventionalisms of a normal hero. Just like I lack the conventional traits of a normal priest," he replied.
"Such as?" She was exceptionally interested to hear his answer. In the back of her mind, a voice was telling her to retreat - that this was dangerous territory - but she stifled it and looked into Ulquiorra's eyes, waiting to hear his answer.
The proverbial ice he stood on was cracking and he could feel it. This was a precarious situation. "I'm not a good role model," he said before swallowing. He leaned forward a bit, bracing himself on his arms. "I want things. I lack self-control at times."
"We all want things, Ulquiorra," she said and sighed. "I see you sneaking sweets out of the cupboard. You are not as stealthy as you think. I know Zommari has a taste for Cuban cigars now and then. I find the labels stuck to the insides of the trash cans in the office," she giggled a bit. "I want things too."
"What do you want?" He asked as he stared at her mouth. "If you knew what I wanted you'd be scandalized, Orihime."
She raised her eyebrows momentarily and looked at his mouth too. "I…" she breathed through her open lips, her breath ghosting over his face. "I want things I can never have."
"Same." His eyes went from her mouth and then flickered up to her dark gaze. "Maybe one of these days I'll get it though."
One corner of her mouth quirked up into an ironic smile, her eyes still on his lips. "Well, I hope at least one of us does."
He brought a pale hand up, running the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip and down her chin. Ulquiorra watched her as he did it. The little shiver was barely noticeable, but it made his breathing hitch. The priest had to remain calm, or he'd be committing a cardinal sin right there in the rectory.
Orihime's brain flooded with conflicting thoughts and ideas. Her eyes closed, savoring his touch and she was aware that everything her body was telling her to do - lean into him, take his thumb into her mouth, reach out and grab him by the shirt and pull him to her - not only were they wrong, but they would make him hate her. Even if he did want her as he appeared to, he would eventually blame her for tempting him and for his downfall. She couldn't do that to him.
She opened her eyes and looked at him as her shoulders raised and fell in a gesture of defeat. "Do you think Aizen was there tonight talking to Zommari about parish business, or something else?"
Her words were like a cold shower and Ulquiorra sighed as he sat back. He was glad his t-shirt was long enough to cover his lap. "I don't know," he answered. "They asked if we were coming to dinner tomorrow and I said that we had other obligations."
"We? Why would both of us be invited?" she asked. She found it odd that after all this time being at Sacred Heart with no contact from "Uncle Sousuke" that she would be expected in his home on what was traditionally a family occasion.
"Truthfully, I don't know. I suspect it's nothing good. I declined the invitation saying that you were going to be visiting people at the hospital. I lied to him." Ulquiorra settled himself back on the floor, facing the Christmas tree again. He grabbed his cup of eggnog and took a drink, wishing he'd spiked it.
She hummed and nodded, not that he could see it. "It's worrisome," she admitted. "Thanks for getting me out of it. I'm sure it's the last thing you need; adding me to the list of your problems. I'm sorry. Here, scootch over, I'll make it up to you," she said, setting her cup on a coaster on a side table and patting the front of the chair she was sitting on, indicating she wanted him to sit directly in front of her.
Ulquiorra snorted. "You've been on my list of problems for a while," he stated but did as she asked.
"At least twelve years, huh?" she asked with a lame laugh, placing one of her legs on either side of his body, and bringing her hands to the tops of his shoulders, kneading with her thumbs at the base of his neck.
An obscene but soft groan left his lips. He had been thinking of getting a massage. It'd been one of his guilty pleasures when he was going through college and while doing his time in seminary. Even in Rome, he'd found someone who would pound on his back and shoulders to relieve the tension there. Usually he wasn't this keyed up because he used exercise as a means to rid himself of unwanted energy. His eyes widened.
That was it!
He'd start running again. He'd lift weights. He'd do something physical to keep his mind off of Orihime. She must have hit something because he made a pleasant almost purring sound.
Orihime smiled, encouraged by his pleased noises. She ran her thumbs up and down the length of his neck for a good amount of time and then moved further down his shoulders. At one point she positioned him with his elbows on her knees and worked the tissue under his shoulder blades, making her way back toward his spine, back to the tops of his arms and then down the sides, his forearms, then pushed him forward and worked toward his lower back. She never got off the chair. She never let him see her other than her fingertips or knees. She was enjoying the feel of his body under her hands too much, she didn't want him to have to be reminded that it was her doing this to him, causing him to stop her.
But as if he could forget. That's all the went through his mind as she worked the tense muscles. Every little touch sent shocks down his nerves and into his brain. He had to clench his fists on his thighs when she worked the lower half of his back. "I can lay down if it makes it easier for you," he murmured.
She chuckled. Apparently, her fears about him wanting her to stop were unwarranted. "That works," she said, waiting for him to lie down on the rug.
Ulquiorra took his shirt off and used it as a small pillow before he stretched out on that filigree patterned rug. He had to take several deep breaths to calm himself down. She was just being kind to him. That's all this was.
She got off the chair and walked up his legs with her knees on either side, her skirt tugging at his pajama pants as she went. "This alright?" she checked, as she tentatively settled her seat just above the backs of his knees.
"Mmmhmm." Ulquiorra didn't look back at her. He stared at the Christmas tree and the presents underneath it. "You're fine. Are you comfortable?"
"Yes," she said, raising up slightly as she brought her hands down to rest lightly on the muscles of his back right above his waistband. "You're not ticklish, are you?"
"Nope, not there at least."
She chuckled, and was half-tempted to bring her fingers to his sides and tickle him on purpose, but decided it would defeat the purpose of relaxing him. Starting at his waist, and using long, smooth strokes, she rubbed the length of his back from waist to neck, and then back down further past his waistband to his tailbone, concentrating pressure on either side of his spine with her thumbs there, and with the heel of her hands as she traveled further up his back. She did this for several minutes and then spent more time kneading around each shoulder; she found more tension there and around his neck anyway.
When she moved up to his neck, she was forced to lean forward a great deal, and her hair fell over her shoulders to brush his skin, and try as she might to avoid it, from time to time so would her breasts.
Ulquiorra's breathing grew harsh every time he felt her body come in contact with his. This was something he wanted badly, but on the other hand, it was utterly wrong. Her hands brushed part of his lower back with just a light touch, and it made him squirm, arching his back and propping his chest up with his elbows.
"You okay down there?"
It depended on what she meant by okay and down there. She had hit a spot which he knew was one of those places that were an automatic turn on for him. Ulquiorra slowly nodded. "Uh, yeah," he answered in a strained tone.
"Relax," she told him, waiting for him to settle back down on his stomach. "Did I get you in a sensitive spot or something?" she asked, settling back on her heels as she waited for him to get comfortable again.
"You could say that," Ulquiorra replied. He focused on his breathing; inhaling and exhaling as he pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Where'd you learn to do this?"
"Um, I didn't? Sometimes Maggie would take me along to her 'spa days' and pay for me to get a massage alongside her, so I'm just doing what I think they did," she explained as she pulled on one of his elbows for him to bring a hand behind him for her.
Ulquiorra let her maneuver his arm, bending it at the elbow. His palm lay against the black ink of the tattoo on his back. He could feel how much strain was on his shoulder. He had no clue what Orihime was going to do until it felt like she ran her thumb under the shoulder blade. Then the side of her hand followed the ridge. "Hnnnghhhh, damn," he groaned.
"Found the spot, huh?" she asked in a soft, smiling voice, and did it a couple more times before she pulled on his other elbow and did the same thing to his to his other shoulder blade. Then she gave him that hand back and took the first one back, massaging his palm with her fingertips and working her way up his forearms, working the muscles there decently hard. There was a lot of tension there. When she was finished what she nearly considered abusing him, she soothed it with long, pulling strokes, and then, again, did the same to the other side.
When she finished the other arm, her own forearms and thumbs were starting to feel fatigued. She could see Ulquiorra's profile; he had had to face the side to be able to breathe. His eyes were closed, and she couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep. She put her palms on his arms and slowly trailed them up to curl over his shoulders, lifting her seat off his legs slightly, and covered his back with her body for a minute, pressing her face into the back of his neck. Orihime then whispered, "All done," giving each shoulder a firm squeeze, then releasing and sitting up immediately, as if that erased the intimacy of the action. Then she got off of him and sat to the side, looking at him until he started to get up, at which point she turned her gaze to the Christmas tree.
Feeling her body against him like that made him want to roll over and reverse their positions. It almost felt like she had kissed his neck but he couldn't be for certain. He did not want to say anything or move because he didn't want her to stop. Then that's what she did and Ulquiorra knew that the moment was over. When he got to his feet, he grabbed the balled up t-shirt off the rug and shook it out, looking at her from the corner of his eye. Orihime wasn't looking at him and that was a good thing because he had the start of another damn erection and he didn't want to adjust himself in front of her. "Thank you, Orihime," he said after he put the shirt back on. "I think that's the nicest Christmas gift anyone has ever given me,"
She smiled, still not looking at him, and said, "It was my pleasure, you, um, smell nice. Also, that wasn't for Christmas. That was… just because you deserve it."
He didn't know what to say. He didn't deserve anything. Ulquiorra sighed heavily, wanting to pull her up from where she sat and lead her down to the basement, pin her against the wall or the couch and kiss her until she couldn't breathe anymore. "It's the shampoo and conditioner stuff you got for me. You have good taste," he said after several quiet moments had passed.
"Hmm, I am a very experienced shampoo sniffer. You know, I think I spent forty-five minutes picking that one out, and I enjoyed almost all of that time. Some of the shampoos are not as nice as others though," she told him. She was trying to force the mood into something less emotionally charged, but she was starting to get the feeling that that ship had already sailed.
Ulquiorra peered at her before he squatted down beside her, reaching out with a hand. He wanted her to look at him. He needed her to look at him. Lowering his voice so that only she could hear, he whispered, "Zom's gonna be gone in a couple of weeks. We could have another movie night." He let his fingers trail down the side of her face and neck then dropped to her thigh where he drew circles on the material of her skirt with his fingernails. "I liked sleeping next to you Orihime."
She felt drunk. Her face was hot, and her mind was lagging. She slowly brought her gaze to his green eyes. Her lips parted to answer, but only a tiny strangled sound came out. She nodded.
"Good night and merry Christmas, Orihime," Ulquiorra said before standing up. He offered her a hand. "I look forward to spending tomorrow with you."
She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand. "Merry Christmas. I'll see you in the morning. Don't stay up too late," she replied in hushed tones and looked down at their joined hands.
It was tempting to just tilt her chin up and plant his lips onto hers but he didn't. Ulquiorra returned the action and then let go first, stepping back. "I won't stay up too late."