WARNING: MATURE CONTENT

CHAPTER 36: Barnaby

Ulquiorra woke to Orihime sitting on the side of the bed. The sun was shining; it was clearly morning. He felt rested. She looked apprehensive though. Something was clearly bothering her. He scooted over the surface of the huge bed and pulled her into his lap. "What's wrong?"

She didn't say anything, mostly shrugged.

"Orihime, talk to me."

"I just-"

"You're feeling inadequate again. Stop," Ulquiorra said. "Who cares if my parents like you or don't? I love you."

The woman lifted a shoulder and let it fall again. She was clearly not over the feeling she had endured of being examined. She had expected as much from his mother; to be protective of her only son. That's the way normal parents were supposed to act. "I care," she replied.

"My mom is a… She's a hard ass. She means well. I'm her only kid. She just wants the best for me. If we had a kid, wouldn't you want the same?" He sighed. Ulquiorra pointed to the closed door on the other side of the bed. "If you want to get cleaned up there's a full bathroom behind that door over there. It might help you feel better about things."

"Ulquiorra, you misunderstand," she said wistfully. "I know your mother loves you. And I know if we ever have children, I will love them fiercely." She blew a breath out of her nose before she met his eyes. Hers were troubled. "It's just that, my mother… She didn't." She stood and turned her back to him, not wanting him to see her face as she admitted her own patheticness, instead going through her suitcase and looking for a bathrobe. "It's a big deal for me to see the way your mother cares about you. It's kind of mind-blowing." She spared a smile for him before she went into the bathroom.

Ulquiorra had known from an early age that his mother would do anything for him. Although Edra didn't have much time as he grew older because of her work and their company, he knew his mother. She was there for each of the women he'd brought into his life and two of the breakups. He hadn't included her in the one with Nel. It seemed like his mother would have gone batshit insane on Nel… Thinking about it, Nel deserved it.

On the other hand… He never thought about the fact that meeting his parents might affect Orihime poorly. He knew that she didn't grow up around family. It had been her against the world. He just wanted her to feel loved. He just wanted her to have a family that wasn't comprised of a ragtag band of friends. Ulquiorra wanted Orihime to be his family. He did not want the love of his life to feel like she was alone ever again.

This had to be hard for her coming from nothing and being shoved into a life of having everything that she could possibly want or need. For Ulquiorra, it was the other way around. He went from having everything to nothing but it was by choice. He always had his family though. Orihime did not have that, just her friends and their borrowed families.

He flopped back onto the bed and sighed before getting out of bed. He contemplated knocking on the door. How could he make Orihime understand? He had to do someting, so he rapped on the bathroom door. "O?"

"Yeah Babe?" she called through the door.

"I'm going downstairs. Join me whenever you're ready. Take your time," he said, deciding that she probably needed time to process everything. He had forced the idea onto her that they should have come to Germany. He'd blindsided her with the fact that he really didn't need his job to survive. He had dazzled her with over the top gifts and she hadn't asked for them. Again, Ulquiorra just wanted Orihime to feel loved and wanted. He'd spend a lifetime trying to show her how much she mattered to him.

Orihime did take her time. Her legs were still unsteady from the previous evening's activities, so she decided to take a bath instead of just a shower. When she had finished she was feeling much better about things and was humming Sexy MF to herself as she brushed out her hair and got dressed. She dressed in a similar outfit to the one she wore the day before, betting that the skirt and blouse combination would work, or at least pass, in the various social situations in which Edra had planned to involve her.

She looked into the small bag of jewelry she had brought along. There were three items in it. She thought about it, held the necklace up and tried on both rings. In the end she decided to stack the rings and wear the necklace. To her it felt like choosing one and not the others was a slight toward Ulquiorra, even though she knew he probably wouldn't care one way or the other. She smiled, still humming the song as she came down the stairs.

If she wondered where Ulquiorra was, all she had to do was follow the loud voices.

"Mother," Ulquiorra said, barging into the kitchen like he had done a million times over his life. He saw Edra sitting at that long, handmade wooden table. Elke was at the same end, muttering while she chopped vegetables. Renard was sitting with them, along with a few of the other house staff.

Seeing the group made him stop short. He had planned on giving his mother the third degree about this whole thing but an audience made him rethink his plan of attack. "Mother, whatever you have planned, stop."

The Spanish woman tilted her head up and looked at her son as she brought a cup of coffee to her lips. "I've no clue what you mean," Edra commented after taking a sip. "Please enlighten me."

A sigh. "Look, you don't know Orihime. You don't get to use her like a pawn," Ulquiorra replied. He narrowed his eyes at the woman who gave birth to him, knowing he'd probably get scolded for treating his mother so poorly. "She's not a show dog."

"Pardon me?"

"O said that you planned on taking her out. She said you planned on showing her off! She's not a damn puppy on a leash!" He said. Ulquiorra was almost to the point of irate but not quite. He was irritated for sure. He knew his mother. She was calculating. She was cunning. She hid it all behind a cute, old lady façade . Edra had always been that way, since Ulquiorra could understand. It was why they had amassed some of the biggest pharmaceutical research contracts. It was one of the reasons why Cifer Research Industries was a common name around Europe.

His mother scoffed at him. "My friends want to meet your bride. They want to see you since you ran away-"

"I didn't run away!"

"No, of course not, Nino. You just left for no apparent reason to another country without telling your parents until it was too late for us to stop you." Edra's voice was starting to become louder. "You ran away from your problems. Had you listened to me, Nelliel would not have been a problem to begin with!"

"So what, I'm supposed to take your advice on everything? I'm just supposed to blindly trust you?" Ulquiorra asked, shouting at his mother. She had frustrated him to no end since he began to make his own decisions.

"I think I've done better in life than you have, boy! Look at you!" Edra put her cup down and stood. She was shorter than Ulquiorra but taller than Orihime, and her presence could fill the room and make her seem a like a giant. "Three failed relationships. You almost flunked out of college. You abandoned a dream so that you could lead a pauper's life! I only want what is best for you!"

"Bullshit! You only want to protect your damn name!"

"Ulquiorra Alaric Cifer!"

"Alaric?" a soft voice came from the doorway, as Orihime's face came into view, her cheeks dusted rose from overhearing a conversation not meant for her ears.

Ulquiorra turned around to see Orihime and he shifted uncomfortably. He had only meant to talk to his mother, not have a shouting match with her. "It means noble ruler," he replied, not looking at Orihime.

Orihime wanted nothing better than to diffuse the tense atmosphere. "Oh, really? I didn't know that western names had meanings. Japanese names do, but it's because they are written in kanji. What does Ulquiorra mean?"

"It means he who cries," Edra stated. She walked over to Orihime and took her hand, leading her to the table. She glanced at Ulquiorra before offering the redhead the seat next to her. "And some noble ruler you're being, son."

"Well I don't know about the 'ruler' part, but I think Ulquiorra is noble. Why did you choose a name with a sad meaning?" she asked Edra, managing to make the question sound like a curiosity and not a judgment.

Now it was Edra's turn to look uncomfortable. She waved her hands and her staff scattered, leaving the room, except for Elke and Renard. "I had a lot of complications. Ulquiorra did not look healthy when he came into this world. He was very pale and skinny like a stick-"

"Ma, no one wants to hear this."

"Hush! She asked," Renard scolded. "Let your mother finish!"

Being properly chastised, Ulquiorra sat down across from Orihime and sighed. "Fine, tell her."

Edra's mouth formed a thin line. "My grandmother, Ulquiorra's great-grandmother, looked at him and said he wouldn't live past the first year. She was obviously wrong. He also looked so sad, all the time. You've seen his pictures. He never looks happy."

"About a week after he was born and I was at my wits end, my mother told me that I should name him Ulquiorra because he never stopped crying," Edra said then smiled. "Eventually, he did stop crying. It was colic, nothing major."

"You make it sound like I was dying," the green eyed male commented.

Orihime glanced over at her fiance with a small smile and back to Edra. "Well, despite the sad meaning, I really do love his name. It did take me some time to be able to say it properly, though," she admitted, laughing at herself. "I really mangled it in the beginning."

Ulquiorra had to swallow because he remembered the first time Orihime said his name perfectly. His cheeks faintly colored and he shook his head. "I spent an entire hour teaching her how to say really and she still messes it up on occasion, like when she talks too fast."

"Hmph," Edra said, barely giving her son notice. She was focused on the woman beside her. "What does your name mean, Orihime? Is it something special?"

Orihime looked slightly embarrassed as she answered, "Inoue means "above the well". Orihime means "weaver princess", and is the name of a mythological being that is represented by the star, Vega."

He had no idea that there was an actual meaning to her first and last name. He'd just gone off what he'd looked up online. "I wonder what people think of my name in Japan," he wondered.

His mother's eyes slid over in his direction. "Probably that you're a stubborn and hard-headed individual. You have a lovely name, Orihime."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Ma."

"Oh, it's Ma now instead of stick up your arse, Mother?" Edra asked. She brought a hand up and shook a finger at Ulquiorra. "Alaric, I will bend you over my knee."

Orihime blushed and raised her brows, looking intently down into her lap at Mrs. Cifer's words. She had to bite the insides of her cheeks to not giggle.

Even he had trouble keeping a straight face. Ulquiorra set his face in a hard glare at Edra then crossed his arms over his chest. "Look, I'm not trying to disrespect you, Ma. I just want you to understand some things about Orihime and I."

"Like?"

"The reason I want to have the wedding in Japan is because that's where Orihime's family is but it's not a traditional family. They are her friends. Orihime is-" he looked at the redhead before he finished his statement. "She doesn't have any blood relatives that are alive or care about her. I want the wedding to take place in Japan because that's where her friends are and I don't think any of them could afford a plane ticket to Germany at the drop of a hat."

"What about your friends? Your family?"

"Ugh. I don't care if we have a huge wedding! I just want a small gathering; you, dad, Renard, Elke-"

"I no go. Too old to fly," the elderly cook said in German.

"Okay, not Elke but maybe Yammy and-"

Edra raised an eyebrow at her son. "You don't want it here because of Nelliel."

His face showed many facial expressions. Shame. Anger. Indignation. Mostly shame because his mother was right. Ulquiorra gave a slight nod.

Orihime flinched at his admission.

"I don't want her to ruin Orihime's day."

"Tch. Nelliel would not ruin the day. I plan on making sure of that. I happen to know where Nel works. Her mother and I are acquaintances. I was going to take Orihime there to parade her around," Edra stated, holding her chin up in a haughty manner. "That bitch needs to be knocked down a peg or two. I can understand though that you don't want to be around her, Ulquiorra."

Orihime's breathing was slightly labored as she asked, "We're doing this today?" She made no other perceptible indication that the very idea terrified her.

"No, today is just for us. I plan on giving you a proper house tour. Maybe a tour of the grounds and gardens. We have a stable and some animals," Edra replied, giving the woman a quizzical look. "Don't worry, you'll have plenty of notice before I cart you off into Munich for a day of shopping and pampering."

Orihime smiled uneasily and nodded.

Nel stood with her hands on her hips, staring at Szayel. "What do you mean he brought his wife? Are you saying he got married?"

"Nel, darling, you have to take in account that he's moved on," the pink-haired man said in a flippant voice, waving his hand. "You've been replaced."

Her hazel eyes narrowed, "I have not been replaced! That woman is just using him!"

It was Nnoitra who snorted rudely. "I think you might be projecting, bitch."

"Shut the fuck up, Nnoitra! You're just mad because I would never give you the time of day!" Nel snapped. "I never used Ulqui."

It was Szayel who rolled his eyes. "Yammy," he said, looking at the big man. "Would you say Nel used Ulquiorra?"

"Huh?" The small giant looked at the teal haired woman who shrank back slightly. "Hmph. You madel Ulquiorra leave."

Nel huffed and sighed. "Your opinion doesn't matter you dumb oaf."

"What did you say?"

"Are you threatening her?" This question came from a blue haired man sitting behind Nel. He was glaring at the other men, scrolling through a phone. He seemed disinterested in the conversation that was going on around him. That was until the big man stood up and glared down at his girlfriend. "I suggest you sit on your ass, Yammy."

"Why are you even entertaining this, Grimmjow? Aren't you and Nel together?" Nnoitra asked.

"You're forgetting the other one," Szayel commented.

"Which one? She has more than two dudes in her harem? What a whore," the tall, skinny man stated.

The teal-haired woman glowered. "His name is Bazz," Nel said.

"Whatever you're a whore. You're a whore who used Ulq to get what you wanted while fucking a blueberry and raspberry," Nnoitra sneered.

"Like you give a damn! You three used him just as much as I did!" Nel yelled.

She turned around and stomped out of the apartment, leaving Grimmjow sitting on that couch. The other males in the room looked at him as he stood with a shrug. He followed Nel down to his car where she sat in the passenger seat. He climbed in the driver seat and started the vehicle. "You wanna tell me why you're so hung up on Cifer?"

"Not you too," Nel said.

"I'm just asking, seems pretty suspect for you to keep chasing him," Grimmjow said as he began to drive back to their apartment. "I mean I've gone along with whatever you were saying but c'mon Nel, are you still in love with him?"

"No! I'm just saying that it would be easier on us if we had him around and he moved in with us," Nel replied.

"Tch."

Edra walked arm in arm with Orihime while Ulquiorra trailed behind. His mother took them around the house, pointing out various antiques and characteristics of the house. They went outside and strolled the fabulous gardens designed by some award winning gardener, Ulquiorra couldn't remember.

To say Orihime was impressed by the estate and its contents would be a gross understatement. The grounds were immaculate and even the outbuildings showed the results of decades of loving maintenance. She was overjoyed when she was shown the stables and was nearly knocked over by an overexcited pair of borzois. The black and white dogs whined for her attention, and she fell to her knees and welcomed their nuzzles and sloppy dog kisses while she did her best to find all their hidden scritchy places. Within minutes both dogs were on their backs with their heads in her lap, and she looked up at Ulquiorra and Edra like she had found nirvana.

Edra's smile was endearing. Her dogs were mostly loveable but they never liked any of her son's girlfriends and would always growl when the women came around. She turned to her child. "See, Ulquiorra. Even Alejandro and Petra love her."

"Yeah, Orihime has a way with people and animals. I bought a plant and now we have several in our apartment that have flourished under her care. She talks to them everyday," Ulquiorra replied. He gave a sharp whistle which the dogs perked up but didn't bother to get up. The animals were enjoying the attention they were receiving from the woman.

"Oh don't be such a grump," Orihime teased when Ulquiorra frowned at the dogs' disobedience. She gave each of them one last belly rub and rose to her feet. She looked down the long stable corridor and saw soft grey noses peeking out from bars, blowing dusty air toward the visitors and trying to get a sniff. Orihime had never seen a horse in real life before. She was justifiably nervous; they were huge. She was curious about the quiet creatures though, "Are these yours?" She asked, gesturing down toward the stalled animals.

It was Edra that answered. "No, one horse belongs to Renard but the rest of the stable is leased to boarders. I am too old to ride and Mikhail has no interest in animals. Renard's horse is his pride and joy."

"May I meet him? Or her?" Orihime asked.

Edra shrugged. "If you'd like. Ulquiorra, take her down to the last stall."

Ulquiorra led the way down the aisle with Orihime close behind, She looked into each stall, cooing at one animal or another, and jumping in surprise when one blew a snort out at them as they passed. She smiled and continued on, listening to the munch of hay and small nickers and whinnies. It was a very soothing atmosphere after the stress of the kitchen conversation that morning. They finally came to a stop at the last stall on the right.

She looked up into a huge gentle brown eye surrounded by long black lashes and velveteen chestnut fur covering its wrinkled eyelids. She was stunned to realize the animal's pupil was not round but rectangular. She studied this eye for nearly half a minute before widening her focus; not that she had a choice. The animal had poked it's muzzle through an opening of the stall bars and began lipping at her hair.

"Oh, well, you are friendly, um, er..." she began nervously before Ulquiorra supplied his name.

"Barnaby."

"...Barnaby," Orihime repeated, cautiously lifting her hand to the animal's nose and giving it a small pet. she had never felt anything softer before in her life. She smiled at Ulquiorra, not sure if she was behaving appropriately around the animal but loving the interaction nonetheless.

There was some shuffling and Ulquiorra turned to see Renard hobbling towards them. "It seems your horse has a fan, Renard."

"Well," Renard said with a smile. "Barnaby deserves fans. He's a beautiful animal. Would you like to give him a treat, Miss Inoue?" The old man held out a small basket with cut up carrots and apple slices in it.

Orihime nodded eagerly and accepted a carrot from Renard. He showed her how to safely offer the treat to Barnaby on the flat of her hand, and she turned toward the tall bay horse slowly to give it to him. Before she knew what had happened, the animal had snuffled the carrot from her hand and gave her a low nicker as it crunched away at it. Orihime grinned at Renard.

"You remind me of my granddaughter," Renard said, patting her on the head and handing the basket to the Japanese woman. "Make sure he eats all of his treats, I'll be back to check on him later."

Ulquiorra chuckled as he watched the man walk away and then turned to his fiancee. "You had your doubts that my family doesn't like you?" he asked, picking up an apple slice and offering it to the big animal.

Orihime looked at him, a woman corrected. "I guess I was being silly. Still, I haven't spent any time with your father. He strikes me as the kind of man who lets his wife do the talking sometimes though. Does he have an opinion one way or the other?"

He shrugged. Ulquiorra answered her. "My dad is focused on his work. My mom is the mouthpiece. She's always been that way. I'm sure my dad will want to talk to you eventually. It's just he knows how my mom gets; a new toy she wants to play with first. He's just letting her get her fill."

Orihime chuckled as Ulquiorra confirmed her suspicions and finished giving Barnaby his treats. She looked around and saw that Edra was nowhere to be found. "Ulquiorra…?"

"Hmmm?" he murmured.

"I don't suppose you want a 'roll in the hay,'" she joked. She had heard the phrase in movies before and had been dying to use it.

He looked around quickly noticing his mother was no longer with them but knowing her, she'd pop up at the most inopportune time. Then again, he was always craving his woman's touch and body. Ulquiorra turned Orihime around and walked over to where several bales of hay were stacked. "I wouldn't mind," he said.

"Oh you're so bad, eroyaji, "she said as she batted at his arm. "I was only joking! What if your mother saw us like this?" She hissed.

Ulquiorra laughed and then picked her up, setting her on top of the makeshift seat. He smirked and kissed her. "I could take you out for a drive in my car and have my way with you," he teased, letting his fingers trailed up her leg.

"You have a car!?" She was genuinely shocked by this news. She knew he was able to drive, he had illegally driven her car once, but he had never mentioned it before. Then her eyes narrowed, "I would like to see Ulquiorra-kun's car," she purred in a slightly more accented than usual tone.

"I have a car. It's nothing special," he said. Ulquiorra sighed and helped her down. "How do you think I knew how to drive?"

He was missing the point. She looked pointedly down to his crotch and said, "Oh I know Ulquiorra-kun can drive, I just wanted to see how fast," she looked back up at him with a smirk.

Oh. Oh… She-Orihime wanted him. That's why she was putting on this act. "Woman," he whispered. Ulquiorra grabbed her hand and pulled her along to where there was another outbuilding which was bigger than the others. It was where all the cars were stored. He dug in the pocket of his jeans and produced a small set of keys, unlocking the door they came up to. Ulquiorra opened the barrier and then went inside, flipping on the light switches. There were two rows of various cars lined up.

His green eyes spotted some of his dad's favorite cars. There was a Porsche, a vintage Mercedes, a BMW, several Audi models and even a Maserati. His car was all the way in the rear of the garage under a canvas tarp. He smiled at Orihime and beckoned to her to follow him.

She grinned. She felt like she was on some kind of movie studio or James Bond adventure ride. She followed him with an unconscious, audible, excited "hee hee hee" noise pushing through her teeth.

When he reached the covered vehicle, Ulquiorra pulled the tarp off with little flourish, letting it drop on to the cement floor. "Do you want to take an actual drive or can I just fuck you in the back seat here?" He said, turning toward Orihime. His eyes were full of wanting and it was all directed at her.

She whimpered under his gaze and her mouth was suddenly dry. Then she repeated a phrase that he had heard her utter before, "Why not both?"

"Orihime," he murmured. He had been given this car when he turned twenty years old. His dad obliged and gotten him the Audi S7 that he had been talking about and even made payments on the vehicle. He unlocked the car with another key then opened the back door of the sedan. "Get in."

She shivered and her core thumped. She loved it when he took control like this, and she got into the backseat without a word, scooting across the seat until her back was against the far door.

Ulquiorra smirked, looking at her face from where he was standing. He could see how her eyes followed his hands as he undid the fastening of his jeans before climbing in beside her. "You want to be a naughty girl and tease me? Come here, Pet . I want your mouth on me."

Orihime licked her lips. This is not what she had been expecting, but she was beyond aroused by his dominant attitude. She slid over in the seat closer to him and brought her hands to him, working to free his growing erection from its constraints. It only took a couple seconds to work it out of the fly opening of his pants and boxers, and then she dipped her head down and took him into her mouth without any further ado.

He wasn't completely hard yet, although it was happening quickly. She sucked on his length, lolling her tongue around the head as she pulled off of him. She repeated this action several times until he was rock hard, then added her hands.

His head dropped back to rest on the seat, eyes closing in pleasure. Ulquiorra didn't know how but she was damn good at this. Ginjo probably had been a selfish bastard. This thought did not please him.

Ulquiorra lifted his head to watch her mouth as she swallowed him. She was greedy when it came to his body. She obviously wanted everything that he could give her. Using a hand, he moved her hair out of the way, tangling his fingers in the strands. He didn't pull. He didn't yank. He just wanted a better view of the show that was going on before him. He wanted to move with her but didn't think that it would be wise to do that to her.

She was in the zone, feeling his member swell and throb in her mouth, and she knew if she stayed the course he would fall apart in short order. She made it a goal, and Orihime was focused to bring him to completion as soon as possible. She accelerated and increased her suction slightly. She slid her visible eye to Ulquiorra's face. His expression alone nearly made her fall apart, with his flushed cheeks and parted lips. It was a truly erotic sight to her.

He moaned, giving a shifting his hips and thrusting slightly into her waiting mouth. Ulquiorra had to suck in a breath when he noticed her looking at him. She knew what she was doing, the little redheaded minx probably planned this. Not that he minded. They still had time to make up for from when they were apart. He finally let go of her hair and reached for one of her tits, squeezing the firm flesh. "Orihime, I'm gonna-Let me-Fuck," he growled.

She hummed her acknowledgement but did not relent her pace, milking him with her tongue and lips until the first taste of bitterness arrived in her mouth. She then slowed slightly, not wanting to overstimulate him as she swallowed the first spurt. The hand she had been using to brace herself against the back seat of the car came up to cup and slightly massage his testicles as she drew another spurt from him, and she did this again and again until his cock began to soften and he was whimpering for her to stop.

He finally choked out a cry as she pulled off of him completely, dragging her tongue up and off of his shaft as she went. She sat up on her folded legs and regarded his face. He looked wrecked. She narrowed her eyes and gave him an evil smirk, bringing the back of her hand to the corner of her mouth and wiping it off.

"So, are you ready to take me for a drive now?" she asked. It was more of a challenge. She thought there would be no way he would be capable of speech, much less movement, at this time.

It took several moments but Ulquiorra finally found his voice. He had to remember how to move his mouth and tongue to produce noise but it happened. "Baby," he said, cupping her cheek and pulling her towards him. His mouth latched onto hers, letting his tongue dive in between her lips. The liplock was smoldering and when he pulled back, Ulquiorra smirked. "I like going fast so I hope you know how to hold on."

She bit her lip and squeezed her thighs together as she nodded, not breaking eye contact for a second, even as she shifted her hips to alleviate some of the throbbing sensation her body was subjecting her to.

He made himself decent and climbed out of the backseat, offering a hand to Orihime. As soon as she was out of the vehicle, he pinned her against the side of it. Ulquiorra was kissing her again, grinding his hips against her. He could feel how hot she was. Ulquiorra could tell she was aroused by how she tried to suppress the whimpers leaving her throat. Then he stepped away from her. "Get in the passenger seat," he said.