Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any other copyrighted material.

Tell Yourself

By: Princess Kitty1

Love Story VII

Ulquiorra tried never to question Orihime's emergency trips to the fabric store. "It's absolutely necessary!" she'd yell at him whenever he asked her if she really needed more. There was an entire stockpile of fabric in the apartment, and lately it had started taking over his closet, since hers had become full. It didn't help that she always kept some on hand in case the Quincy ran out.

But Ulquiorra had nothing better to do, so he accompanied Orihime out into the cold Saturday afternoon. December would be upon them soon. While she sifted through drawers full of colorful lace, he started composing excuses to get out of any social gathering she might later implore him to attend. This kept him entertained enough to miss the conversation between Orihime and the fabric store's cashier, who knew her by name.

"Oh, is that your boyfriend Inoue-san? He's handsome!" the young woman whispered.

Orihime shook her head quickly. "No! He's just a friend."

"But he must like you if he was willing to come in here with you."

"That's not true. I come in here with Ishida-kun all the time." The cashier replied with a yard-long stare. Orihime smiled at her, then took her bag of purchases and retrieved Ulquiorra from the display of Christmas-themed fabric.

They left the store, walking along in a comfortable silence. Orihime was just beginning to wonder whether she should ask him something when Ulquiorra lifted his head. "This route is familiar."

"Is it?" Orihime asked, then she realized why. "Oh! Look," she pointed down a hill of browning grass to their left, "that's the place where we met again!" She took off towards the playground at the bottom of the slope, and Ulquiorra followed, hands in his pockets.

Orihime set her bag down and claimed the first swing, dropping onto the plastic seat cheerfully. "How nostalgic!" she cried as Ulquiorra came over and sat on the second swing. "I haven't been here since that day."

"Is this a place you frequented before?" he asked her.

She hummed. "Admittedly, I ended up here once or twice whenever I was in a bad mood."

"Then you are… happier now."

Orihime heard the question in his tone. She rocked herself back and forth on the swing, her hands gripping the cold chains that supported it. "I am, though I couldn't tell you why I was unhappy before." She tilted her head skyward. "It was weird. Most days I'd be perfectly fine. Then other days I'd get home, do some chores, work on homework, and right in the middle of eating dinner I'd become sad."

"It sounds like loneliness."

Orihime considered that. Hadn't she recently cried herself to sleep because she didn't want things to go back to how they were before Ulquiorra had come to live with her? Was it loneliness that she'd been so terrified of? She looked at him. "What about you?" she asked, sitting upright, "Are you happier now?"

"Yes," he said instantly.

Orihime laughed. "You didn't even have to think about it."

"To me, it is a question that does not require much thought. I have lived longer than even I can recall, and there is not a single memory before the past year that I find worth cherishing." He heard the creaking of the swing slow to a stop, and found her gazing at him with open curiosity. "This should not surprise you, woman. Hueco Mundo is not a place one should go looking for happiness."

"Oh, I figured. It's just that you've never talked about it before," Orihime said, leaning awkwardly on the chain. "Guess you have your reasons, huh?"

"You haven't asked me," Ulquiorra pointed out.

She squirmed. "I didn't want to pry."

"If it is you, I would never consider it prying." He saw her eyes widen and mentally reprimanded himself; he'd been watching too much television. He tried again. "Considering all that you have done for me, it would be unfair to leave any questions you may have unanswered."

"I hope you don't feel like you owe me anything, Ulquiorra-kun, because you don't," Orihime said, her brow furrowing.

"On the contrary," Ulquiorra replied, "I owe you my life."

Orihime stared at him, her grip on the chains tightening. Her heart was skipping beats like stones. She knew him well enough to understand that it wasn't in his nature to say such things lightly; brushing his words off with modesty was out of the question. Luckily he saved her the need for an immediate response. "You mentioned the other day that you do not know why I came to you all that time ago." She nodded. "I did not fully comprehend it myself at the time; I was hardly lucid. The one thing that was certain was what I felt in…"

He wasn't looking at her, but Orihime guessed what he meant to say. "Your heart?"

Ulquiorra stared straight ahead. "I have no concrete explanation for how this heart came to exist. Before I died, I had reached an understanding about the heart in general, through your gesture. Whether or not that was powerful enough to create one in me, I cannot say… logically. It is what I felt.

"I came here, in part, for answers. But also because I felt that you were the only person that I could trust in the midst of my confusion. There was no guarantee, of course; you could have turned me over to Soul Society while I was still unconscious. The heart was the only guidance I had. Feel free to laugh at the irony."

Orihime leaned towards him. "I would never!" It took a well-timed look for her to realize that he had been kidding. The heat crept back into her cheeks. She wanted to tell him that he gave her too much credit, that she hadn't done anything – a fact that had chewed at her conscience more than twice before. But there was no way she could tell him that what he felt was wrong, when she knew that it was her own doubts that clouded her judgment. "I'm sorry. This is a lot to take in. I-I don't know what to say."

"You are not obligated to say anything."

"I want to, though!" she protested, standing from the swing. "I'm happy to have your confidence, Ulquiorra-kun! I haven't told you so before, but it's true. It makes me so happy. And if you feel like you owe me some kind of debt, then repay it by being happy too!"

Ulquiorra took in the sight of the woman before him, wondering how his desire for her could have possibly increased, unbearable enough as it had been. He stood up, taking a deep breath of cold air. "Your terms are fair. I will join in the human pursuit of happiness."

Orihime beamed at him, satisfied. At that moment a group of children came running into the park, squealing and headed straight for the slide. Orihime picked up the bag of fabric. "I suppose that's our cue to go!"

They trekked back up the hill, headed for home, each lost in their own thoughts. Orihime could concentrate on nothing save for the warmth that was spreading from her chest to every corner of her body. Her steps felt lighter, and her hands shook a little with nervous energy. The knowledge that Ulquiorra held her in such high regard filled her stomach with more butterflies than she could manage.

She even found herself hoping that someday that regard would turn into something deeper.

/TBC/

A/N: The alternate title for this chapter is "In Which Orihime is Oblivious About Men's Feelings." (I kid, I kid.) Did y'all enjoy the fact that Ulquiorra was telling the love story this time?

Thanks for the birthday wishes everybody! Also, to answer the question, my kitty's name is Rogue. She is a vocal black cat who likes to tear up the stairs, attack her toys after pooping, and eat things she shouldn't eat off the floor.

Now that some things are out in the open, will Ulquiorra and Orihime naturally gravitate towards each other until the inevitable collision? My brain says yes. She promises a relationship before chapter sixty.