CHAPTER 28: Holy Cannoli
Orihime took the long way to the grocery store after her meeting with Retsu, contemplating everything she had learned. There was no way she could keep this secret from Ulquiorra. She couldn't. However, she didn't feel right being to one to tell him, either. She felt a weight on her chest. She decided to set it aside for now. She had work to do anyway.
When she finally got home, she first brought the groceries in and got dinner started, then went back to the station wagon and put the box of Ulquiorra's items in her room. She had not yet seen him. It was a Friday, so it was likely he had after-school activities to attend to. She returned to the kitchen and put the kettle on, still having a taste for tea after her meeting with Retsu. When it was ready, she sat at the kitchen table with her cup of tea to wait for Ulquiorra.
The green-eyed priest sighed as he walked into the rectory's front door. He had gone to visit some old acquaintances. He didn't trust his family and he didn't trust his mother… well, his so-called mother. He laid out a pretty penny for what lay beneath his blazer, tucked into a holster. He'd shirked his duties at the school today with Zommari rolling his eyes at him. The black man could wave this off however he wanted. It wasn't his father that had some diabolical scheme up his sleeve.
It had made him uncomfortable to illegally purchase a handgun. It made him uncomfortable to hold one again. He needed to do it though. He had to have some way to protect himself and Orihime from Aizen and his lackeys. He quietly went down the hall, preparing to go upstairs to his room to stash the gun somewhere. It was then he saw Orihime in the kitchen.
Okay, she was safe. He had been overreacting. Still, better safe than sorry.
She had heard him come into the mudroom and lifted her head until he came into view, greeting him with a soft smile. "How was your day?" she asked, putting a hand on her back and twisting it. She had gone stiff sitting the the kitchen and waiting.
"It was, uh, productive," Ulquiorra said, tugging on his ear. "How about you? Did the visit go okay?"
Orihime bit the inside of her cheek. "Yeah," she answered after a half a minute. "It was enlightening. We have a lot to talk about later. Your mother..." Orihime trailed off, not sure what she meant to say.
Ulquiorra raised a brow. "I'm sure Retsu had a bunch of stories to tell," he replied. "I'm going to go upstairs and get changed. Did you want to do anything tonight?"
"Yeah. Is there any place we can go that's more private than the basement? Someplace we can really talk?"
"Any reason why?"
"Yes."
He nodded as if he understood what she was saying. "We could go out to a cafe or find a little coffee shop somewhere. Let me take you out for dessert?"
The idea of a mini date and dessert was more than she had bargained for, and her brows lifted and her smile grew, "Yes, please!"
Ulquiorra smiled at her. He had to act like everything was okay. Normal. "Let me get changed and we'll have dinner. We can decide where to go after that, okay?"
"One of these days we should go to Union Oyster House. It's not far from here. I haven't been there in ages," Orihime said as they got off the T at Haymarket. They were going to a different spot though, and had about a seven minute walk to get there. "Although I probably have to avoid shellfish for awhile…" she said, slightly disappointed as she realized she would probably never get the chance to go back.
Ulquiorra heard the wistfulness in her voice and frowned. Something was off with Orihime. He just didn't know what. After stashing the gun in his dresser, Ulquiorra had changed into casual clothes. They ate. Zommari ignored them as usual. The green-eyed man told the senior priest they were going out. He'd done nothing but huffed about it. "You know, oysters are said to be an aphrodisiac," he commented bumping his arm into hers.
She smiled and answered, "As if we need that." She was right, too. They were going minimum once, usually twice a day. She knew there were extenuating circumstances, but as far as she was concerned, she was up and eager to maintain this pace.
"I think I could get some Viagra or whatever old dudes use these days," he grinned.
"Are you trying to break me? I will not be broken. Probably." She was quiet and he didn't respond for a minute, both of them keeping their eyes open in the different, noisier city surroundings. "So, I got to see some of your baby pictures," she said, thinking this might be a gentle segue into the conversation they had left Roslindale for.
Instantly his playful mood dropped and Ulquiorra got quiet. "Oh," he said. "I don't even know why I got my pictures taken when I was that young."
"I do. You were a gorgeous child. Even a mother who hated her offspring would want to show you off. But your mother did not hate you."
"No, I mean-I don't know why Retsu and Aizen wasted their money on getting pictures done. They treated us all like crap. If we wanted to be treated like shit I'm sure we could have stayed with our real parents."
Orihime sighed. She didn't feel the timing was right yet to tell him. Later. "Well, to be fair to you both, she admitted to me that she knew she mistreated you. She says she regrets it. It seemed genuine. She said… I don't know if I should tell you this or even if you want to hear it so stop me if you don't," she said, shaking her head back and forth slowly. She wasn't sure she would want to hear it if she were in his position.
He pressed his lips into a thin line and looked at the cars that were passing them by. He shook his head. "I want to know every fucking word she said. But at the same time… I don't want to hear her bullshit, Orihime." Ulquiorra didn't know why but everytime he thought of the parents who raised him, he got angry. They were just like Orihime's family in Wisconsin. No bonds to speak of.
"I get it, I feel like I'm somehow complicit by even telling you. I know that's not the case but it makes me feel weird, you know?" She sighed and brushed his hand with the back of hers momentarily, then backed off. Although they were plenty far away from Sacred Heart there were a lot of parishioners who worked in the city and the last thing they needed right now was to be spotted doing something worse than going to a bakery. "Anyway, I'll tell you but keep in mind that I'm on your side, not hers, okay?"
Ulquiorra nodded. "Okay. Fine. Tell me."
"She said she had to 'maintain an air of indifference' toward you so that Nnoitra would not feel slighted. That she loved you more than him, or that you were easier to love than him," she blurted.
"Ha!" The laugh was slightly bitter. "Okay. I don't believe that but whatever she wants to tell people to make it easier for her to sleep at night."
"She didn't talk about your sisters. She barely spoke of Grimmjow, and only because I asked. She only spoke of you and Nnoitra," she said quietly. She was hoping he might start to suspect the truth on his own.
Again Ulquiorra shook his head. "Is this what you wanted to talk about? Is this why we left Sacred Heart for? I thought you wanted to talk about plans on escaping or something, not how Retsu regrets the choices she made in life."
"That too," she said, pulling him to the side of the nearby building and orienting their bodies to face the wall for privacy. "She asked me to protect you. She wants us to leave before the six months are up."
He gave her a look. "I knew that much. I was planning on that. Grimmjow told me to do that when I met his kids that night. Did she tell you how to protect me? Or what I needed protection from?"
Orihime looked around, and then pulled on the lapel of Ulquiorra's coat, cupping his ear and whispering, "He isn't looking for an heir. He wants you working for him no matter what. Even if I get pregnant he won't give up. Retsu said he thinks…" she pulled back, her eyes wide. This isn't how she should be telling him. This was coming out all wrong. It was too much for her to process and it was getting away from her.
Pulling his head away from her Ulquiorra looked down at Orihime, his face almost twisted into an angry expression. "If he's not looking for an heir then why did he-I wouldn't have done that to you."
Orihime took a step back, looking contrite. "I'm sorry. I don't even know if she is right, do I? You said she might be lying," she put a hand to her forehead and stepped to the side and leaned against the building. This was harder than she thought it was going to be. She was trying not to let her own feelings get wrapped up into this but it wasn't easy.
"I'm not saying I regret it but if he didn't want a grandchild then what the fuck was the-Oh god." Ulquiorra stood there in shock. "Did he want-He wants to keep me here."
Orihime nodded and stepped close to him again, speaking in hushed tones, "She said he thinks you'd be 'perfect hitman.' You. I told her he was insane; he didn't know anything about you." She reached out to him tentatively, trying to put a hand on his forearm.
He shrugged her off. "Had I known that, I would have left. I would have never defiled you. I would have done what he said. He doesn't know me and you don't really know me either."
She cocked her head to the side and backhanded his shoulder. Not hard, but enough to get his attention. "Really? Are you really going to say that to me now?"
Eyes narrowed at her. Ulquiorra was irritated. He was angry. "You know nothing of my past. You know nothing of what I could really do."
"I know nothing? I know more than you do. I know who your real mother is," she said in a huff. "I'm getting a whoopie pie. You're welcome to join me," she added, restarting her march toward the bakery.
"You're going to get your ass back here," he called out. She could not expect to get away with telling him that and then walking away. "My mom was some whore in New York. That's what I've always been told."
Orihime kept walking. "It's not nice to call Retsu a whore," she muttered under her breath. Ulquiorra was too far back to hear it. She stopped and turned. "You know, your mother's name wasn't Cifer. It's your great-great-grandfather's name. Also, you are a tiny bit Japanese. Also, I was asked specifically not to tell you any of this, but I thought you deserved to know. Now I'm wondering if I made the wrong decision."
His eyes narrowed further. "Tch, you have no clue what the hell you are talking about. You've fallen under their fucking spell."
She marched up to him and hissed, "I didn't fall under anyone's spell. I have proof in my bedroom that Retsu is your biological mother. That woman insisted I keep it from you! I am not telling you we should go have family dinners with her. You don't have to believe it, either. It makes no difference to me. You can deny it all you want. I'm telling you because you deserve to know the truth." She paused to take a breath. "I told you before I started this to remember I'm on your side!"
That was a slap to the face. Ulquiorra looked at Orihime with wide eyes. There was no way. None. He was nothing like that woman or man. Ulquiorra would not accept this information without concrete proof. Retsu was lying. He opened his mouth to say something but she was right. Orihime had told him that she was on his side but… What if she was trying to deceive him? He grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned the redhead to the side of the building he was near. "I don't believe a word that comes out of her mouth," he said referring to his mother. "Unless you have concrete proof, I'm going to pretend we never had this conversation."
Orihime had never seen this side of Ulquiorra before. Her eyes widened and her chin wobbled and dimpled a bit as a wave of fear crashed through her. "Okay," she said in a tiny voice, nodding quickly.
"Sorry," he said, backing away from her. "They spent the past decade denying my existence and then they want to bring me back to this city? They want to welcome me with open arms? I'm sorry Orihime, I don't buy their brand of bullshit."
She looked to the side and nodded, leaning against the wall. "Do you want to just go back?" she asked. She had clearly been shaken by his outburst. She was no longer interested in telling him anything else she had discussed with Retsu. He didn't want to know. She would give him the box, minus a few choice pictures, and he could decide for himself.
He sighed and shook his head. "To be honest, I don't want to go back there. I promised to take you out for a date. I've ruined it though."
She wiped her eyes and looked in her purse for a tissue. She found one and wiped her nose. "You scared me. We can still go but I need to calm down."
He never meant to scare her. Ulquiorra cupped her face, pressing his lips to hers. "I'm sorry. I apologize. I just-I'm angry."
"We shouldn't - not here," she said, pressing on his chest gently, her eyes darting from side to side.
"I don't care."
She brought her eyes to his and searched them. "You don't?"
Ulquiorra shook his head slowly. "I don't fucking care who sees us. What are they going to do? The moment I touched you was the moment I stopped caring about being a priest."
She let her hands travel up his chest to his face, resting her fingertips on his jaw. "Please understand. I only care about what is right for us. I don't care about your parents. I just want to…" she took a deep, shaky breath. "I just want to be prepared for what's to come. I'm trying to do that, that's all."
His eyes roamed over her face. There was no lie hidden in her eyes. She was being earnest. "Orihime," Ulquiorra said, pulling her to him. "I know. I just… I'm scared. I don't want them to interfere with our lives."
"I know. I know," she said, smoothing her thumbs across his cheeks. "That's why. We need to have as few surprises as possible. We have to stay a step ahead. We can't wait for Aizen to make his move first."
Sighing, he stepped away from Orihime. "What do you want to do then?"
"First," she said, sniffling, "I want to eat something really bad for me. Then, we strategize. Sound like a plan?"
He bit his lip and nodded. Ulquiorra didn't want to rush anything. He knew it was for the best that they have a plan in place. They had no way to escape Boston. Plane tickets could be traced. They had no car of their own and no friends with vehicles to help them out. The priest rolled his head from side to side, feeling the tension crack. "Yeah. That's all we can do at this point is plan."
Orihime took his hand, threading their fingers, and led the way to the bakery. She was quiet, mentally trying to prioritize the items they should touch on tonight. "Have you talked to your brothers and sisters at all?"
"You know I try not to talk to them. I can call Tier tomorrow and see what she knows. She works for Aizen too," he said. "C'mon, let's go get some dessert."
They got into the bakery and it didn't take long for Orihime to totally forget what had happened before she stepped foot into that magical wonderland. Glass cases full of baked goods angling in toward a center aisle had distracted her to the point of whining. "Oh my god…" she looked at Ulquiorra with a pained expression. "How am I supposed to make a choice? This is too hard," she complained, her head going back to the racks of cannoli and tarts and fruit slices and hand pies.
Ulquiorra was even overwhelmed by the choices. There were eclairs and cream puffs. He'd heard the bakery's tiramisu, cheesecake, and creme brulee were all awesome. "I can't decide. Wanna share some stuff with me?"
"Yes!" One would have thought he had just asked her to marry him with the level of enthusiasm she displayed in her acceptance. She twirled to face him and grabbed his arm. "What do you want to get? Oh, Ulquiorra, there are so many good ones!" she started pointing out every item that interested her and telling him how they rated in her estimation. "So, what do you want?"
"Uh, how about you pick five things and I'll pick five things and we can take them back home… Maybe we should get like ten things each… because they have cookies over there and there's brownies..." Ulquiorra trailed off. It was nice to push the drama to the side for a moment.
She walked behind him, absently running her hands down his arms from shoulders to wrists in a rather sensual way, her hands kneading his flesh, on her way to look at what he pointed out. There were five levels of cookies and brownies. She had to stand on her tiptoes to see the top level, and she bent over at the hip to look at the lower level. "We should try the oatmeal ones with the butterscotch chips, see how it compares to the ones we made before Christmas," she said, looking over to where she expected him to be, but he wasn't there.
Ulquiorra was standing off to the side, staring at the other cases. His phone had vibrated and he pulled it out to see a text message from Tier. He ignored it and continued to browse the sweets. Maybe there was something to what Orihime had said sometime ago. There would be life after all of this. They could open a cozy little bakery, making sweets and other stuff for people. That would be an okay life. He rubbed his hands together slowly as if contemplating the items.
"You can't decide, can you? I'll help you narrow it down. I want a whoopie pie, an eclair, tiramisu, a chocolate chip cannoli, and… Um… a slice of strawberry shortcake!" she covered her mouth when she finished as if she have given away a secret and regretted it. In fact, she was trying to stop herself from changing her mind.
He turned his head towards her and smiled. Orihime was good at distracting him when he decided to try and self-destruct. "That's a lot less than what I want. I want some baklava, an eclair, a cream puff, a s'mores brownie, tiramisu, creme brulee, one of every cannoli, the italian cookies, cheesecake... I could go on."
She looked at him seriously for a moment. "You only live once, right? Get. Every. Fucking. Cannoli."
The guy standing behind the case boggled as Ulquiorra rattled off everything they wanted to try. After swiping his personal credit card, the couple left with several bags of what could be considered diabetes in the form of food. It seemed like an indulgent thing to do, buying all this stuff and gorging themselves on it but Ulquiorra was tired of denying himself satisfaction. "We could offer Zom some of this," he said as they walked back.
"Sure. After we get ours," she said merrily, leaning into his shoulder as they turned toward the T. "I mean, we could use a knife, it's not like he has to have our mouthy leftovers," she giggled.
"Heh, I doubt that he would ever eat anything except your banana cream pie."
She snort-laughed. "Oh my god, my poor, innocent mind has been so corrupted since then!" She looked at him and her smile gentled, observing how much more relaxed and himself he appeared than he had on the way to the bakery. "Do you want to stop somewhere and get coffee or something?"
Ulquiorra considered this for a moment. "Do you have somewhere in mind?"
"Yeah there is s place just up here," Orihime pointed to a shop about four doors up. "It's supposed to be good."
"You know how picky I am about coffee." Ulquiorra looked at the place. It might be decent.
"Oh come on. You didn't believe me about the percolator and now you can't get enough of it. I'm sure this place is great, c'mon," she said, pulling on his hand and turning her face to grin at him.
He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah but I got that fancy coffee pot now. You know the one I can just pop those things in and boom! Flavored coffee whenever I want."
She sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, but that coffee has no soul. My coffee is superior and you know it," she teased as they arrived.
"Everything about you is superior to anything else," he stated and put his arm around her waist. He meant it too. "I don't know about that cooking though." Ulquiorra grinned at her.
"Hey, what are you talking about? You love my cooking!" she protested.
He nodded. "I do," Ulquiorra replied. "I've not had the opportunity to cook for you."
"Ahh, I see. I challenge you to do it then," she said with a chuckle. She saw someone stop and stare at them. She saw a pair of eyebrows flash in surprise, and then the person quickly looked away. Orihime said nothing, bringing her eyes back to Ulquiorra's and smiling. She didn't recognize the mystery person. Hopefully he would be discreet. If not, oh well, she thought. Ulquiorra said he didn't care. It was all only a matter of time anyway.
He turned his head in the direction she looked but saw no one there. Ulquiorra looked down at the redhead with a questioning look. "Well fine. When I poison you with my cooking because it's burnt, don't haunt me."
"Oh come on, you made it sound like you were some kitchen genius or something. Although I will admit your french toast pudding was drool-worthy. You've got some chops, for sure."
They entered the coffee shop and got in line. Ulquiorra stood behind the woman and rested his chin on her head as the line slowly moved ahead, his hands resting on her waist. She let him; enjoying the closeness and the feeling of being protected by him and simultaneously nurturing him. When they finally got to the front of the line, she ordered a cafe au lait and he got a latte.
Ulquiorra paid for their coffee, not caring if people were staring at them. It was nice that they were able to enjoy time like this together. When they got their cups, he asked, "Do you want to snag a table?"
"Yes," she said, leading the way to a table in the corner and scooting into the bench seat.
He sat beside her, not caring if there was space on the other side. Ulquiorra wanted to be close to her. He had done a shitty thing earlier by scaring her. "So..." he said.
"So?" She asked. "Sew buttons on your underwear?"
"Ha ha," he said. Ulquiorra took a sip from his cup. "You said you wanted to talk; plan.."
"Mmm," she nodded and took a small notepad and pen out of her purse and set them on the table, then took a sip of her drink and crossed her leg over Ulquiorra's knee under the table. "So, first, we need to think about possible destinations I think. It will be easier to plan an escape if we know where we're going, don't you think?"
Ulquiorra thought for a moment. He had enemies in Idaho. They could go to Chicago but the mafia was rampant there. He rubbed his chin. "There's always Milwaukee. We could try our luck in Japan. I've been to London a few times. I would rule out Rome."
"I have some friends in Milwaukee; it might be good to go somewhere where there are people unconnected to Aizen that can help us out in a pinch. I think it should go on the list. Japan might be a good back-up; it's not hard to get jobs there teaching English for the short-term. I looked into it before graduation. It's just expensive to get there and setting up a life… I don't know any of my family there, if I even have any. What about you? Do you have friends who aren't connected?"
"Yammy and Starrk. I don't think I could contact anyone from the seminary."
"Where are they these days?"
Ulquiorra shrugged. "Yammy lives in Rockford and he didn't say where Starrk was kicking around at; just that the guy was a single dad."
"Hmm, still, Rockford, Illinois? It's halfway to Iowa. And if you want to get anywhere else you have to go back toward the city. I don't know. It's an option I guess."
The idea did not appeal to him, especially since the place was a cesspool of criminal activity. Yammy had told him it was worse than Chicago at times. "What about you? Can you think of anywhere we could go beside those places?"
"My friend Tatsuki was planning on moving out west, Colorado or something but I kind of fell out of touch with her. She hasn't been on social media much so I have no idea where she is now, but I could look her up. The rest of my friends stayed in Milwaukee or again, went down to Chicago. There is one who travels back and forth between NYC and Milwaukee though. He works for this big multinational law firm called Quincy, Inc. He is kind of… insufferable sometimes, though. I dunno. All my friends are more of the "air quote" kind of friends; more acquaintances really. The only one that who was ever actually what I would consider a friend was Ichigo, and he kind of screwed that up. I mean, he would probably help anybody out in a pinch so that's not the issue but it's not like I'm gonna reach out normally."
"How did this Itchy-go screw it up?"
"He wanted to date me. I said no. Then it was awkward. I think I told you about him before."
Ulquiorra's mouth pressed into a thin line. He remembered hearing about this guy. "Yeah I think you mentioned him. You passed him up for me?"
She smiled and nudged his shoulder. "Yep, he just didn't have what it takes. I'm sure he's long over it by now. He was pretty popular if I recall. We didn't go to the same schools obviously so I didn't get to see him "in the wild", but that's what people told me."
The priest turned and bent his head down, gently moving Orihime's hair away from her neck. He nuzzled her ear. "What does it take? Being tall, dark and handsome?" he murmured against the shell of her ear. He told her that he didn't care if they were seen in public. He was going to act like a boyfriend to her.
She shivered and smiled, answering, "That, and no sense of humility, apparently." She chuckled and squeezed his leg with the one that was draped over his.
Grinning at her, Ulquiorra pulled back. "You might want to get used to it. I kind of acted like this in college but it was worse. I've learned how to restrain myself over the years."
"Oh dear. Oh woe is me," she said in a soft, overly-dramatic voice. "Usually you're fine, though, honestly. I like a man who… oh let's just call a spade a spade: I like one man, and he's you and that's just the way it's always been, so deal with it, I suppose." She laughed a bit too hard at first, then covered her mouth and giggled.
He gave a soft chuckle. "Okay, I happen to be rather fond of you," Ulquiorra said. His hand came up and pushed a few stray hairs away from her ear. "So, next order of business, transportation? Can't fly."
"Right. Well, you've already established that you have the funds to buy a decent used car in cash, so that shouldn't be a problem, right? I mean I could buy us a beater but I don't want something unreliable when we're on the run. What do you think? A van? A decent-sized SUV? We're going to have all of our worldly possessions that we want to keep with us so we'll need some space.
"I came here with three suitcases, a carry-on and a box," Ulquiorra said. "I didn't have much. Moving the television and other stuff in the basement would be a hassle. We need something that is good on gas. I have no clue though. The cars in Italy aren't exactly huge."
"Sure, but you run out of space quickly. I vote we look at something with a backseat that folds down so we have enough space. I have my clothes and… you know what I have you've been in my room. Anyway, I left some stuff with the Rohertys and I kind of doubt they're hanging onto it for me anymore. Not that I would dare go back for it."
A sigh left him. "So we have a couple of potential places and a way to get there. Need income and possibly identity change."
"Well, as long as we have a couple months' budget sorted, and we land in a spot with some jobs available, I don't think we'll have a problem finding work. We're both young and have at least college under our belts. It helps that we're attractive. I mean, not to brag, but all I have to do is bat my eyelashes and throw a stray compliment and I guarantee I can land any kind of customer service gig in a day, so long as the hiring person is male, straight, and not currently in trouble with his wife."
"Wow. Humble much? I bet you could draw in a lesbian or two," Ulquiorra said taking a long drink from his paper cup.
She shrugged. "It's the truth. It's hard to find good people these days. I'm not afraid of hard work, you know that."
It was the fact that they had to do this that made him irritated again. "I don't want either of us busting our asses for nothing. I'm used to a certain lifestyle. I'm not lavish, but I like some wiggle room."
"You worry too much about the easy stuff. That will take care of itself, trust me. Well, that's not exactly true… We have to do the work, but we're good people. We find good people and good things will come to us. We just have to keep plugging away. You've already done a good job setting us up with a nice cushion. We'll stay here as long as we can, padding that cushion, right? I've got some money squirreled away too. Anyway, the last bit, the identity thing, that's going to be the trickiest. Do you know anyone who isn't in Aizen's pocket? I do, but they are not local."
He shook his head back and forth. Everyone he knew who could help with this issue was under his father's thumb.
"The thought had occurred to me to go down to Providence and look up Barragan's old associates, but honestly, I think anyone from the life would sell us out at the first opportunity. I think we'd be better served to just go off the grid until we get to, hopefully, Milwaukee, and then I can reach out to the Donger."
"I could ask Tier about asking her boyfriend to help. He's some mafia guy down in NYC."
"Eh… Like I said, I would rather keep it out of the hands of anyone who might be known to any of your father's associates. The Donger is unethical as hell but he keeps students' visas current and fakes passports and what-have-you. There are a lot of Chinese kids walking around with the social security numbers of old dead white ladies, if you catch my drift."
Ulquiorra nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Anything else we need to worry about that you can think of?"
"I think we've had a productive meeting. We have a lot to think about. First order of business I think is the car. We've both mentioned to Zommari that we wanted to get an additional one; I don't think it would raise any red flags. If Aizen asks about it we can just say we're planning ahead for the baby."
She was absolutely right. What if Aizen somehow blocked them though? His mouth twisted to the side. "You could reach out to your friends in Wisconsin. I'll contact Yammy again," he said absently.
She nodded and polished off her cup of coffee. "You ready to go back? I have to," she gestured to the bathroom, "then I'll be ready."
"Go ahead, I got our sinful treats. I'll wait for you."
Not a minute after Orihime went to the bathroom, a thin man in his early forties with a mostly bald head and pasty white skin approached Ulquiorra. "Well, if it isn't Father Cifer! What are you doing in this neck of the woods?" the man asked, leaning his hands on the back of the chair opposite the priest.
Ulquiorra's head snapped up and he looked at the man with his brows knitted together. "Uh, uh, I was having a cup of coffee with Miss Inoue. I like coffee and she knew of this place."
"Miss Inoue, Miss Inoue… Sorry, I don't know the name. And I'm sorry, I don't think we've ever been introduced. Paul Christensen, parish finance committee. I work around here," the man said, extending his hand to Ulquiorra.
"Ah," the priest said, glancing at the hand before grasping it briefly. He made his face passive in appearance and voice as dull as possible. "She's the rectory housekeeper."
Orihime had come out of the restroom as Ulquiorra was talking to the man that she recognized from the street. Shit. Oh well, might as well take her chances, she thought. "Alright, Father Cifer, I'm ready to get back. We don't want to leave Father Zommari waiting on pastries, do we?" she asked in a somewhat formal way.
Paul turned toward her voice. "Ah, so you're Miss Inoue, huh? How come I've never seen you around? You must be a member of some of the parish ministries."
Orihime's nose wrinkled momentarily. She didn't like the way this guy was looking at her. "Um, yes, I'm a member of several. Music and decorating…" she trailed off, not wanting to give this slimy-looking guy more information.
"Well it's so nice to see such virile young people active in the Church these days," he said, grinning at her and staring at her legs.
Ulquiorra had to fight to keep his emotions from surfacing. A sneer was trying to appear on his face. He gave a small, strained smile and stood up, grabbing their sacks. "We better be on our way, Mr. Christopher." The priest turned his attention to the redhead and stated, "Make sure you don't trip this time, Miss Inoue. With these bags, I might not be able to catch you next time." He looked back at the balding man and said, "Have a good night."
"It's Paul. Paul Christensen. You have a good night too, Padre. Make sure you don't let that little Miss Inoue get into too much trouble, she looks like she finds enough on her own," he said with a perverted laugh. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around, Miss Inoue."
Orihime nodded and turned, an involuntary sharp intake of breath stealing her voice as she power-walked to the exit.
The priest followed her and as soon as they were out of the coffeeshop, he started growling like some angry animal. "That motherfucker. He's one of those people. Forgive me father I've sinned by lying with another woman other than my wife or coercing some female to sleep with me because I'm a slimy fuck!" He wanted to punch something or someone but couldn't. He had a lot of pastries in his hands.
"I just hope I never see him again. He saw us on the street together before we went into the coffeeshop. I saw him react to us but I didn't recognize him. We should keep moving," she said, her teeth chattering despite it not being that cold.
"Tch. He's part of the parish finance committee, so you might be seeing him." Ulquiorra opened his mouth again then closed it. He had told her he didn't care who saw them together. He should have respected boundaries though. "We're usually doing other things when those meetings are going on."
Orihime shook her head. "It's only a matter of time until what we've done comes to light. If it's not Paul the finance guy it'll be my swollen belly or Aizen outing us. Who knows, Zom might get sick of us. We can't go around worrying about it. It's not useful."
They rode the T back to their stop and walked back to the rectory. It didn't take long. They had been gone for only a couple of hours. Ulquiorra felt the device in his pockets vibrate again as he unpacked the bags that held their goodies. Whatever Tier wanted would have to wait.
