Chapter 26: The Other Side of Casual

Ulquiorra had dropped her off at her classes after driving around town for a bit and going through a drive-thru for some fries. They chatted and laughed, and by the time her classes started her eyes were dry and she was in a good mood.

Halloween came and went. She didn't feel like dressing up that year. She went to Ulquiorra's place and watched some scary movies and ate popcorn. She spent her time apart from him at work or studying and working on her final projects. She was ahead of schedule and feeling confident. It helped that she had already studied all this material last semester.

The second week in November, Byakuya called her into his office. "How do you feel about a book tour?"

"A what?"

"A book tour. It's where you travel around to bookstores and read The Perfect Cup and sign copies of your book. Sounds fun, right?"

Orihime's eyebrows shot up. "Um, I guess? How long would it be?"

"Well, it's not like you're the Rolling Stones. We'd set some dates for you around Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and maybe one in New York and one in California. You'd be gone as day trips for the ones around here and maybe a weekend on the coasts at most. We can work it around your school schedule."

"Okay," Orihime said. She wasn't so sure about the timing of this, but she'd look into it, at least. "I'll do it on the condition that I have final say about the dates," she said.

"Of course," her boss replied.

She went back to her desk and fidgeted for awhile. She didn't know why this made her so nervous. She looked across the street and saw her angry bird. It reminded her of her blog post from last spring, when she drew two happy sparrows.

She knew what was making her nervous.

She stood up. "Anybody want coffee? I'm going across the street," she announced. She didn't really wait for anyone to answer before she left.

When she entered the coffee shop, her eyes scanned the place for Ulquiorra, but didn't find him. Damn. She really wanted to talk to him about this book tour thing. She waited in line, eyes scanning the place until it was her turn.

Just her luck. Her favorite person was on the register.

"Hi Rangiku. I'll have a medium black coffee. Is Ulquiorra around?"

Rangiku looked at the redhead and then walked over to the workroom door. She stuck her head in and said something before she walked back over to the register. "He'll be out soon, unless you want to go back and talk to him?"

"Yeah, I'll pick up my coffee on the way out, thanks," she said and walked behind the counter without waiting around.

She knocked on the workroom door before opening it. "Hey," she said before she even saw him.

Ulquiorra looked up from the clipboard he had in his hands. His eyes went wide as he saw Orihime. "Hey," he said, freeing his hands by putting the clipboard on the counter. "What brings you over and back here?"

Her lips screwed up into an uncomfortable and self-conscious kind of twist. "I don't know. I'm feeling nervous and I needed to see you. Mr. Kuchiki wants me to go on a little book tour, and the idea should make me happy, but…" She sighed. "It is kind of scaring me right now."

The man walked over to Orihime and drew her close to him. "Why does it scare you? You should be out there celebrating your book. Kids and moms love it."

She smiled a bit and said, "It's not the book I'm worried about. It's leaving."

Oh. She was scared… Oh. OH! Ulquiorra gave a sigh. "You're scared about leaving me? How long of a tour is it? A couple of months? Six months?".

She shook her head. "It's a couple of weekends and some day trips. And yeah… I mean, the last time I left…" She was not going to finish that sentence. She shouldn't even have started it. Despite the big, pretty words thrown around at their reunion in September, Ulquiorra had made no moves toward making their relationship official or more than just casual dating. And "dating" was a bit of a stretch. They hung out. They didn't go on dates. Her confidence in him was starting to crumble.

He took a step back and looked down at her. His brow furrowed. He did not like the insinuation she was making. "So it's a couple of weekends and day trips. I'm not going to fuck Rangiku while you're gone. Is that what you're worried about?"

She looked down and shrugged. "Nothing's stopping you."

"Yes there is." He tilted her head up so that he could peer into her eyes. "My heart isn't with her. It's with you. I have no interest in allowing myself to become that close to Rangiku ever again."

"She does." Orihime stared back into his eyes. She didn't want him to misunderstand her. "You spend a lot more time with her than you do with me. She used to work the evening shift with Izuru. She used to never be around when I came in with coffee orders. Now I'm back, and she's playing goalie every time I come in here. This used to be my favorite place. I feel like it's her territory now and I'm not welcome."

Ulquiorra scoffed. "If I fire her, are you willing to take her place? She's done a lot for me. She ran this place while I was in prison. Rangiku ran this place while I took a vacation."

"And you're telling me that Izuru or Ethan couldn't? Admit it, Ulquiorra. You don't want anybody else taking her place. It's not about the job. There's plenty of qualified people." She sighed and backed away. "That's not even the point. If she's just an employee, talk to her and tell her to knock it off. If it's something else… Let me know when you figure it out."

"Should I tell you good luck on your book tour then?"

"Are you telling me it's something else?"

Ulquiorra shook his head. "No. There's nothing between Rangiku and I. We're friends and coworkers. You're reading too much into things. She's just hurt by my rejection," he stated.

"And you don't think that she would just jump right back into your bed if you said the word? Friends don't do that, Ulquiorra. You're in denial if you think otherwise." She took a deep breath and sighed, feeling defeated. "I'm telling you this as someone who cares about you. You don't have enough separation from her for her to get over it."

"I'm not in control of Rangiku. She's more than welcome to quit. I would never invite her, as you put it, back into my bed. I'm not like that. She knows she has no chance with me," he said, walking back to where he laid his clipboard down. "I cannot control what you think either."

"No, you can't. But your actions have a big influence on it. Are we just riding a merry-go-round indefinitely? You say I have your heart… But I've been back here for over two months now and nothing has changed. I don't know what to think."

His brows rose sharply and Ulquiorra tilted his head slightly and looked at Orihime. "I'm sorry that I want to take things slow. Do you just want me to fuck you now? There are some things I have to get over, too. I feel at any time you're going to reject me again. I'm trying to put that behind me."

His words hurt. A lot. Her lower lip came out and her eyes watered. "I didn't know you felt that way. I'm sorry," she said softly.

He cleared his throat. "I do not care if Rangiku has an interest in me. I used her. I want to take things slow with you. I want to get to know you more. If you want to rush into things, then I cannot guarantee that they'll last."

She shook her head. "I don't want to rush… I just… You know when Grimmjow was here and we argued? He asked if you and I were together. I couldn't say yes. I almost said we were just friends. I don't want to be just friends. I didn't like it when I said we were "casually seeing each other". There is nothing casual about this to me. I'm waiting for you on the other side of casual."

His mouth twisted to the side as he stood there, thoughts swirling in his head. On one hand, he wanted to make her happy. On the other hand, he had his own doubts about relationships. "I thought about you and I on my way back from Chicago. I realized what I felt about Rangiku and what I did to her. I realized I just want to make you happy. I want to be with you. I don't see the need to label what we have or justify our relationship to anyone else. We're seeing each other. We're enjoying each other's company. I'm not seeing anyone else. I don't even pay attention to anyone else."

Orihime was not satisfied. She stood there and her jaw moved to the side a bit as she contemplated his answer. Clearly he had made up his mind and wasn't going to budge. Finally, she wiped her wet cheeks and nodded. "Okay, then. I'm going to get back to work."

Something occurred to her then. Something that never seemed like a possibility before in her life. She had always been a speck on the wall; an insignificant person who went with the flow. Maybe it was time for her to try to command the flow, instead. "Do you want to go out on a date? With me? Tonight?" she blurted out.

Ulquiorra's head came up and he stared at her for a moment. He was shocked that she asked him on a date. He was such a dumbass. They had been hanging out since they saw each other in September. He hadn't really taken her out on a date. They always chilled at each other's apartments. "I would love to go on a date with you, Orihime," Ulquiorra said with a small smile.

He repeated the actions of setting the clipboard down and walking over to the redhead. His pale hands came to her hips and he pulled Orihime closer before he kissed her. It was slow. It was lingering. It was filled with wanting. When he pulled away, his breaths were short. "Text me later with the details?"

She had no idea what she was doing. She had been on a few dates with Grimmjow, but they were just… functional. He never really tried to woo her or anything. They went out to eat and then came back home to one another's place. She didn't want this to be a lackluster affair like that.

So, she hit up the internet. There was a place that did group painting lessons that was BYOB. Pass. There was a place where you did romantic yoga. Hard pass. Then she saw something a little more her speed. An arcade bar. That sounded fun and low pressure. She texted him the following:

- Meet me at 7:30 at the gyro truck on Church Street by Whole Foods? Think casual.

Ulquiorra got out of the shower when he got her text. He looked at the message and then tapped out his reply that he would be there. After that was done, he looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was growing out again. His face looked tense.

It was true. He was tense, but it was from the news of this date.

Ulquiorra was usually the one who asked women out to places, making sure they had a good time. This was a first for him.

As he styled his hair, Ulquiorra thought about things. Orihime was asking him to fire one of his friends. Yes, he had had sex with Rangiku on multiple occasions, but he had made it clear that that was all it was. There were no feelings on his end for the other woman. A little voice in his head piped up and told him Orihime was going to leave him too, just like everyone else.

Closing his eyes, the dark-haired man gave a long sigh.

That was just his insecurities rearing its ugly head. Orihime wanted him. She wanted to be in a relationship with him and not just casually dating. He still had the hang ups though.

He finished getting ready and got dressed before walking out on his balcony to have a cigarette to try and calm his nerves. He had to talk to Rangiku.

She got there early and found a lightpost to lean against, smelling the savory mutton from the truck and watching and listening to people as they walked by. She was still nervous. She didn't know what to think about Ulquiorra's position. Practicality was one thing, deep denial was another. She thought he was in denial about Rangiku.

But he only saw what she wanted him to see. Maybe she acted cool around him. She wasn't cool around Orihime, though, and it was only getting worse. She hadn't been exaggerating when she said she didn't feel welcome at Coffee & Sadness anymore. The coffee tasted like animosity.

Orihime had experienced enough shitty people in her life. She didn't want to add another one to the pile. She sighed. Maybe, like Starrk's, C&S would have to just become a memory for her. It made her sad. She wore a sad expression when Ulquiorra spotted her.

He had used the bus and then walked to the food truck she had mentioned in her text. He had his hands buried in the pocket of his jeans as he got closer to her. Ulquiorra's hands had been shaking since he left his apartment after talking to Rangiku. Seeing Orihime's face just made the slight tremors worse. Was this a breakup? Was she telling him-No. It was just his overactive imagination. "Why the sad face?" he asked once he stood in front of her.

She blinked twice and startled as she looked up at him. "Wow! You are stealthy!" she said in a louder than intended voice. "Sorry, I was just thinking about bad coffee."

"You've been drinking bad coffee?" he asked. "I have been known to be extremely quiet when sneaking up on people. Are you going to break up with me tonight? I have to know."

Her brows furrowed. "One, no. Two, how can I break up with you when we're not even- you know. We're not a couple."

Ulquiorra sighed. "I consider us a couple. We're an item. We're together," he replied. "You could just tell me you don't want to do this anymore." He bit his lip after the words came out of his mouth.

She sighed and grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the line at the gyro truck. "I want to start this. That you consider us a couple is news to me, to be honest," she said as they arrived at the back of the line. "It makes me feel a lot better."

"Orihime, this might come as a surprise to you, but I don't spend as much time as I do with you to just consider us friends. I never spend a lot of time around people except at work," Ulquiorra said. He intertwined their fingers and used his thumb to rub the side of her hand. "It's just not my style."

"You are very mysterious, Mr. Cifer," she said, leaning into the side of his arm a bit. "You always have been. The Perfect Cup wasn't a story I made up. It's the truth. Except, these days, I don't get to drink your coffee much anymore and it makes me sad. When do you work in the front anymore?"

Ulquiorra studied the small woman for a moment, then looked at the line in front of them. "I had a talk with Rangiku before I came here. She's going back to the afternoon and evening shift. Ethan and I will be working the morning and afternoon shift. I understand that you're jealous of Rangiku, but you have to know I've never pursued a woman as I have chased after you."

Orihime felt embarrassed to be called out like that, but overall it was good news. "Well, um, I can't say I'm not happy to hear that. I'm pretty sure she put salt in my coffee today. If I can avoid her shift, I have a good chance at having decent coffee again, right?" she said, smiling at him. Her eyes were still sheepish.

"I only will have to tolerate Rangiku for three hours a day; four days a week," Ulquiorra said. He smiled at her and then tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "You can always call me if you need good coffee."

Her expression melted into a lovestruck one at his touch. "Uh huh…" she said, a bit unintelligently.

She didn't realize they were at the front of the line until the guy in the truck stuck his hand out to wave at her. "Hey, you guys ready to order?!"

"Oh! Yeah, I'll have the special. What do you want?" she asked Ulquiorra.

"Make that two specials." He looked at Orihime and then handed the guy in the truck some money to cover their meal. Ulquiorra smiled at the woman beside him. "Call this my apology for not taking you out sooner?"

She gave him an insincere frown. "I was supposed to be taking you out. Oh well. I'll buy your drinks at least."

He gave her a grin. "I'll accept this deal."

That grin was like seven punches to the face. His perfect teeth and dimples and the slight squint at the corners of his eyes… She had to take a slow, deep breath. He smiled at her often, but this kind of open, boyish grin was a rare treat. She pursed her lips for a moment and her cheeks brightened before she murmured, "Not the panty-dropper, it's not fair!" then brought a hand up over her mouth to cover nervous giggles.

His grin remained but he squinted at her. She was so adorable. Orihime brought him joy. He decided to flirt back with her. "Panty-dropper? Is that what happens when I smile at you?"

"Well, not technically. I mean, not yet, anyway. I'm pretty sure you would remember if it did," she said in an attempt to act flirty and full of herself, but failing spectacularly as her cheeks turned bright red and she looked up at him like she was about to implode. God, she was such a dork. Oh well. Better he find out now.

A low chuckle escaped his throat. This was nice compared to the tension between them earlier. "It's something I dream about, but you're right; I'm sure I would remember it if that happened," he murmured as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I should hope so," she said. "So what of these dreams? Anything specific? Any weird circumstances? Do these events take place in hot air balloons or down waterslides?" she said, teasing him.

"Eh, they're just dreams I have."

"Hmm," she said and nodded. If he wanted to keep them to himself, he was allowed. "So, do you want to know what I have planned after this, or do you want to be surprised?"

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow and looked at Orihime. "Does it involve you and me and a private space?"

She shook her head. "Nope, it's in public. Hope that's not too disappointing," she said, craning her neck to see his reaction.

He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay Miss Inoue. I'll be surprised then," Ulquiorra replied.

Their food was ready and she walked up with Ulquiorra to the window to grab it and put on any extras they wanted, then they walked over to a nearby bench and took a seat. "So," Orihime began, feeling a bit of pressure to keep the flow of this date moving in a snappy direction. "Any Coffee & Sadness gossip or news lately? New dishes you might give me a sneak peak of? New and wild flavor combos?" She smiled and took a bite of her gyro after asking.

Ulquiorra's mouth was full so he just shook his head before swallowing the bite. "Nope. We will have the same things for November and December. Pumpkin spice is still popular. I might add a Cinnamon roll latte to the mix. Um, Ethan has a girlfriend. Other than that..." He smiled at her again before he cleared his throat. "Orihime, I apologize for earlier at the shop. It was insensitive of me not to take your feelings into consideration concerning Rangiku."

Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull at the mention of a cinnamon roll latte, and if she hadn't already been eating she might have had to wipe the drool away from her lips. As it was, though, she was forced to chew and swallow quickly after his apology. She was actually slightly glad that she had a few seconds to consider it before she needed to reply. "Wow, Ulquiorra, um, thank you," she said when she could. Grimmjow would have never apologized for something like this. He would have made it her fault.

"You're welcome," he said before taking another bite. He chewed silently for a moment before he sighed. "Seems silly for you to thank me for that. I need to be more understanding of things that make you uncomfortable. I have no feelings for Ran. I'm neutral towards her. You're the one I want to be with. You make me… you make me… you bring me joy."

Her right eyebrow had been in danger of raising right off of her face as he stalled, but its pair joined it when he finally got to his answer. "Joy?" she echoed, looking at him a bit like she didn't fully understand, but a smile broke out slowly on her face as she lowered her food to her lap. "I bring you joy?"

It was his turn to blush, his face turning bright red. "Yes, you make me happy," he said softly.

She bit her lower lip and looked down at her food for a minute, then nudged his shoulder with her own and murmured, "Um, same," before taking a monster bite of her gyro.

At about the same time, she heard a voice calling her name. She looked up and had to cover her mouth to prevent cucumbers from falling out of it. She squinted as she recognized the new Rotten Brand Management gofer, Charlie, crossing the street towards them.

"Hey Orihime! I never see you out," the young man chirped with a smile, then looked at Ulquiorra. "Hey! I know you! What are you two doing out here?" he asked, grinning at Ulquiorra.

The color of his face quickly faded as the other man approached. Ulquiorra stared at the RBM's coffee boy for a moment. "We're on a date," he said without any inflection to his voice.

Orihime smiled back at Charlie. "Yeah, what are you doing out here?" she asked, just trying to be nice.

"Oh, I'm waiting for some friends. So you two are dating?" he seemed to size them up and assess them, his face turning a bit serious for a second. Finally he nodded and said, "You look good together. Well, I gotta run. It was nice seeing you guys," he said before waving awkwardly and walking away.

Orihime snuffled a laugh and said, "What the heck was that?" looking over at Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra continued to stare at Charlie's back before he shrugged. "He seemed… a bit concerned that we're together. Does he have a crush on you?"

Orihime had taken another bite in the meantime and had to disagree with just a vague vocalization. "I think he is comparing us to me and Grimmjow. People at RBM did not exactly ship me and Grimmjow," she said after she swallowed the last of her gyro.

The man gave her a side-eyed glance before muttering, "I didn't ship you and Grimmjow. He is a horrible person sometimes."

Orihime shrugged as she wiped her hands off on a napkin. "Well, it took me a little too long to figure that out." She looked at Ulquiorra and narrowed her eyes, thinking about it a bit more. "You know… I was really upset about the stuff he said to me the other day, and it dug up old hard feelings, but really…" she paused and sighed, looking out at the people walking on the sidewalk. "I really don't care that he left me for Lucy. I really hope they are happy together. I don't mean that in a spiteful way or anything."

"Grimmjow says he reads your book to Brady every night. It's his favorite book."

Orihime smiled. "Good. It's a good book; I can't say I blame him," she said, standing and looking down at Ulquiorra. She had enough decency to blush at her own bragging.

He gave a one sided grin before he stood up too. "So what's the next part of this date?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Follow me," she said, walking to a crosswalk and slipping her hand between his body and his elbow. She led him across the street and down a bit until she got to a door that had a little Pac-Man looking logo on it. "What do you usually drink when you're not at fancy places like Starrk's?" she asked as she opened the door.

"Water," he said. "You're taking me to an arcade?"

"It's a grown-ups only arcade," she said, looking a little embarrassed. She didn't say anything as she went to a machine and stuck in a twenty dollar bill. She had come prepared, with two plastic sandwich bags to split the quarters that came out. "This one is yours," she said with a motherly tone. "Use it wisely. I'm going to go get you a water. Are you sure that's all you want?" she asked.

Ulquiorra looked at the bag and then looked at Orihime before he laughed. "Yes, a water will be fine. I only drink at Starrk's because I'm comfortable there."

She nodded. "You're not going to judge me if I have one?" she asked as she walked away. She didn't think he would. She came back about two minutes later with a bottle of water and a glass full of something dark and bubbly. "So, have you had a chance to scope out the machines? I have a few favorites, but you can pick what you like," she said, eyeing up the decades-old machines. There were claw-grip catcher games, coin slot games, old school NAMCO games, an old booth type Jurassic Park shooter… really a lot of old, old machines that felt very nostalgic, even though technically a lot of them were before Orihime and Ulquiorra's time.

He looked around the arcade and shrugged. Uncle Aizen wasn't the type to encourage the use of video games. Ulquiorra only played them when Grimmjow's mom hadn't pawned whatever system she had bought on layaway or from a rental place. "Show me around and we'll see if I like anything."

Orihime took a sip of her drink and again took the lead, pulling back the curtain of the Jurassic Park game a bit and seeing it empty. "Come on," she said, pulling him inside and setting her drink into a cup holder. "Okay. Point and shoot, Don't let the T-Rex eat us," she said, slipping some quarters into a slot and waiting for him to get settled in beside her.

The game and its graphics were horrible, but Ulquiorra shot all the velociraptors with precision. Still he and the redhead lost as they encountered more difficult scenarios in the game. "Want to move onto a different game?" he asked as the screen flashed game over.

She was impressed. For someone who didn't seem too into this activity, he seemed good at it. Before she answered him she twisted in her seat and planted a kiss at the corner of his lips. Her kiss tasted a bit like coconut. "Different game," she said with her lips still near his, before she moved to sit back down and grab her things.

"What are you drinking?" he asked as they sat there for a moment.

"Malibu and Coke. Do you want a sip?" she offered.

He shook his head. "Not my thing," he replied. Ulquiorra leaned over and kissed her, though, and he leaned back before he got out of the seat.

"Okay," she said softly as she followed him. "What's next?" She spied a Street Fighter kind of game and started walking in that direction, but kept her eyes on her date for any indication that he might be interested in something else.

Ulquiorra followed her, tagging along like a puppy. "I'm not used to playing games like this, Orihime. Pick what you want to play and I'll play with you."

So that's what she did. She button-smashed the Street Fighter game. They both floundered trying to figure out the mechanics of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game. They played Whack-a-Mole and Skeeball. They spent a good five bucks at the claw crane game, and Orihime ended up winning Ulquiorra a little squishy kawaii coffee cup plushie.

After all the quarters were spent and her drink was done, she was getting the feeling he wasn't really enjoying himself. "So, um, wanna call it a night?" she offered.

"We can," he said, taking her hand. "Did you play a lot of video games growing up?"

"My brother and I played from time to time. As you can see, I'm not especially good at them," she said as he opened the door into the night air. "I brought you here because I thought it would be fun," she said, grimacing a bit in an apologetic manner.

Ulquiorra gave her a questioning look. "I did have fun, but I'm not used to so much stimulation or playing games like this. Aizen, my uncle, wasn't into entertainment that he considered subpar. This was fun. I liked watching your face light up while playing."

She gave him a half-smile, still convinced that he hated it and was just saying this for her benefit. It was chilly out, so she crowded him a bit, leaning into his arm. "So, what kind of entertainment were you allowed to enjoy growing up?" she asked, changing the subject away from her subpar activity.

"Books, plays, theater performances that were boring, opera..." Ulquiorra said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Since I left Aizen's care I've never stepped foot into an opulent building to watch someone sing or dance. I do occasionally read when the mood strikes me. I used to play golf, which I detested."

"Huh," she said. "He sounds like a super fun guy, your uncle," she teased. "What's your fondest memory growing up? Or one of them… I'm sure that's kind of tough to choose."

"I don't really have one," Ulquiorra replied. "What about you? What was your aunt like?"

"She's a little rough around the edges," Orihime admitted. "She has a gruff voice and she looks like my mom looked but a little taller and a lot healthier, despite the cigarettes and being older. She works really hard. She has a great laugh if you manage to get her going. I think she'd like you," she said the last part softly.

"I would love to meet her. I just don't have anyone for you to meet."

"Maybe someday," Orihime said. "She lives in Alabama now. And it's alright about not wanting to introduce me to anyone," she said, giving his arm a squeeze. She didn't feel like she should pry about his family at the moment. He seemed kind of melancholy.

To Ulquiorra there was a big difference between not wanting to introduce her to anyone and not having anyone. His parents had been dead a long time. His uncle was a scumbag… A charming scumbag. "Do you want to go back to my place and watch a movie?"

"That sounds great," she said, giving him a grin.

A/N: Thanks for reading!