Chapter 30

"No, you can go home with the kids, Ai and I have it covered!" Orihime said into the receiver with a satisfied lilt.

"Or you could come in and tell her to put her feet up, I know she's like a go-go-goer, but you are pregnant, Orihime," Satomi remarked as she walked behind the redhead, her voice coming through the phone loud and clear.

A sigh left Ulquiorra. "Orihime, you need to rest. You need to take care of yourself. I understand there are things that need to be done at the cafe, but your health is more important."

She knew he was right, but it was hard for her to give up control of everything she had worked so hard for. "Okay, fine. I'll go home with the kids after you get here."

Hearing the defeat in her voice was difficult for him to deal with. Ulquiorra knew that Orihime wanted to do things for herself, but she had been having a troublesome pregnancy from what he learned from Isshin. Orihime's pregnancy with Kazui had been a breeze compared to Three's. "I will be there in a bit. Please sit down and dictate matters from a cafe table. Maybe we can put an armchair in a corner so you can sit comfortably."

She laughed at that idea. "People will come in and ask what is wrong with the fat lady in the chair. I promise to sit down. I still say you and Isshin are being worrywarts, but you're right, Three's health is more important than my own ego."

"Thank you," he said. "How is Yamada working out? Is she a suitable replacement for Riruka?"

"Above and beyond suitable. You can find out for yourself tonight, if you're up to it. Satomi was hoping to cut out early."

Ulquiorra thought about it for a moment. There wasn't really anything keeping him at the school after hours. "Fine, fine. I'll walk over with the kids. I'll see you in a bit."

Orihime dutifully took a seat and watched silently as her staff took over operations. They really rarely needed her input. It made her feel conflicted. On one hand, it was gratifying that her shop was so well organized and her staff so well trained that they could handle things so seamlessly. On the other hand, there was a burning sensation in her throat at the idea that she was unnecessary.

"Kurosaki-san, we need more of the sugar cookies," Ai said, coming up to the woman. She set a cup of tea in front of her boss along with a napkin. "Are there any baked?"

"Oh no, there should be…" Orihime's face fell. It was her fault. She had said she would handle the inventory in the cases that day. "There is prepared dough in the cooler, if you can cut and bake some, but we'll have to put a sold out sign until they are cooled. I'm so sorry."

Ai shook her head. "Don't be. I'll do that right now. Is there anything else you need? When is Satomi leaving for the day?"

"She'll leave after Cifer-san arrives. Are you going to be okay with just you and him? He's asked me to go home." Orihime knew Ulquiorra could handle the shop; he had proven himself indispensable. His mannerisms sometimes scared people, though, and she didn't want Ai to feel uncomfortable.

"I'm fine with Cifer-san being around. He doesn't say much and does the work. You deserve a break," the woman said before nodding at Orihime and walking away. She found the dough where Orihime said it was and was cutting cookies to lay out on a baking tray when Ai heard the man's voice.

"Woman, you need to relax. Go home and have a soak in the tub. Take a nap on the couch."

"Yes, sir," she said, only a hint of exasperation in her voice as she stood and approached her man. "I'm going to miss you tonight," she murmured when she was close enough for just him to hear.

Ulquiorra didn't pay attention to anyone but his girlfriend as he wrapped his arms around her. "Take our spawnlings home. I'll be there as fast as I can after things are done here," he said to her. "Have Eriko and Kazui make you dinner."

She nodded, then quickly looked left and right before rising up and stealing a kiss. "I will, I promise. Let me know if you need a lift back; I don't mind driving back to get you if you miss the train; I don't want you stranded here waiting forever for the next one."

His voice lowered until he was barely whispering. "You forget that I can use a certain move that will get me to your side instantly," Ulquiorra replied. "I will not have you disturbing your rest to come get me, as sweet as the gesture may be."

The hair on the back of her neck raised at his tone and sentiment. "Damn," she breathed, her eyelids lowering as a wave of desire washed through her.

Ulquiorra looked around, noticing Ai was watching them. He let out a breath before he dragged Orihime behind the display of plants. "You can always go upstairs and wait for me," he said, burying his face into the redhead's neck and kissing the skin there. He softly growled when he reached her ear. "We could celebrate Eriko's birthday early."

A whine pushed past her throat as she looked to the ceiling, damning the fact that Eriko and Kazui were waiting outside. "I would do it in a heartbeat, but I think you forgot the kids."

As if on cue, two young faces appeared in the side window of the shop and began to bang on the glass. Although mostly concealed from view, the kids knew the shop well enough to know where their parents disappeared to from time to time. Ulquiorra and Orihime's legs were visible to them from their vantage point.

"Ugh," he groaned before turning his head to stare at the kids. His mouth formed a thin line and he glared at the two. "Then we shall have to wait."

"You are worth it." Orihime smiled at him affectionately, then took a deep, bracing breath and took a step back. "Call me if you need anything. Information, moral support, dirty talk. Anything."

"Are you trying to seduce me, Kurosaki-san?" Ulquiorra said this with a smirk on his face. He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Take my car and the heathens and go home."

She nodded and said, "I love you," before turning to leave.

"Cifer-san?" Another woman's voice came a moment later.

Ulquiorra turned around after Orihime went out the door to find himself looking at Satomi. She was nice looking, but rather plain. "Yes, Satomi? Will you be leaving now?"

"If it's alright with you, Cifer-san," she replied, adjusting her glasses.

The green-eyed man nodded. "Have a good evening, Satomi. See you soon," Ulquiorra said before he went to check on the plants. Everything looked like it was in order. He went into the kitchen where Ai was. The new employee was laying out another tray of sugar cookies. "Hello Yamada, do you need help with anything?"

Ai shook her head. "Not anything you could help with at the moment, but thank you Cifer-san."

"Very well then, I'll be doing inventory."

That's how it mostly went when he was stuck in the cafe. The new worker would make these vague statements, almost as if she were flirting, and Ulquiorra would dismiss them because he didn't understand what she was saying, exactly. When it was time to close the cafe, Ai put her hand on his arm before she left. Hmph. Maybe he needed to have a discussion with everyone about boundaries. Satomi never acted this way towards him.

It was late and Ulquiorra didn't feel like using the train to go home, so he walked as far as the train station before using Sonido to travel close to his home. He walked the rest of the way. As soon as the house came into view, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Orihime was surprised to see him walk up the driveway so early. She had been waiting in a chair outside, enjoying the late summer evening. "Hey, how did it go?" she called out softly as she pushed herself out of the chair.

"Sit," he commanded as he moved toward her. "It went fine. Ai is a hard worker, but something about her bothers me. I can't put my finger on it."

Orihime's brow wrinkled as she searched her memory for what it might be, but came up empty. "Like what?" she finally asked.

He shrugged. "I'm not quite sure. It's like Urahara; you know he's shifty, but don't know what he could be shady about. Ai's like that. She has the potential to be like a snake. It's probably the amount of eyeliner she wears."

Orihime nodded. She knew what he meant. "Yeah, I definitely don't feel safe to confide in her. Like, I would feel safe asking Satomi to watch the kids, but not Ai. And the eyeliner is not flattering." A breeze blew through the overhang and Orihime shivered, but it wasn't just from the cold.

"Did you have a chance to rest?" Ulquiorra asked. "Did the children fix you food?"

She chuckled. "Yeah, the kids made cold udon and a salad. Do you want some?"

Ulquiorra nodded. He hadn't eaten since lunch. He didn't really like the sweets or the foodstuffs that Orihime served to her customers. "Is there any left?"

"Yeah, they made a lot, let's go inside," she smiled, lifting a hand to him for assistance.

Of course he helped her up and pulled her into the house with him.

That night, Orihime woke up with a start and out of breath. She reached around in the darkness until she felt Ulquiorra's body and her own belly. She felt a kind of fear that she hadn't felt in a very long time; the last time had been during the Quincy war. Bizarre, to have a nightmare about that now. She couldn't remember the dream at all, but it took awhile for those terrifying feelings to dissipate. It was nearly dawn before she fell asleep.

When Orihime woke up, Ulquiorra's eyes snapped open. He heard her but didn't say anything. The next morning he was up first and went downstairs to make coffee. He didn't know how to bring up the contents of those journals, or the letter, to the woman a week later. How could he ask about why she kept the bracelet without triggering an episode?

Eriko brought him out of his thoughts. "Where are we going for dinner on my birthday?"

Ulquiorra's head came up and he looked at his child. She was standing there in some hot pink pajamas and rubbing sleepy eyes. "We're going to be having pizza at the cafe, along with cake and ice cream," he answered.

"Oh. Okay."

"Why?"

"I was just wondering. I thought maybe we could try another cafe in Tokyo."

He sighed. That wouldn't be feasible. "Eriko, you're not getting out of going to school on your birthday. Two, taking all four of us to Tokyo and dealing with crowds and such… It's not something I want to do. If you wanted to go to a themed cafe, they require reservations, sometimes months in advance. We'd be too late. I figured I'd get you one of those pizzas you talk about and we can have a party… Just like we did on Kazui's birthday."

The girl frowned. "No, I mean like a regular tea shop or something. Why does it have to be the four of us? Why can't it just be me and you?"

"We are a family now. You can't discard them just because it's your birthday." Ulquiorra gave Eriko a hard stare.

"I bet Yuko would take me to a cafe. She would let me do what I want for my birthday. She seemed like she wouldn't hold me back from doing things."

The pang that went through his chest as she turned around and stomped back upstairs hurt. Ulquiorra rubbed a hand over his tired face before sighing. More and more, Eriko would throw Yuko in his face, making it seem like sleeping with the woman was an insult. He didn't know what to do. This was supposedly the arrancar or hollow side of her coming out.

The coffeemaker beeped at him and Ulquiorra poured two cups of coffee and took them upstairs.

Orihime did not stir as the bedroom door opened. She was still sound asleep; her body trying to catch up for the lost sleep during the night.

All Ulquiorra had to do was look at her, his worry growing. What if Orihime couldn't carry Three because of their different spiritual pressures? He had read something about a woman's body rejecting the fetus because of some type of incompatibility. This didn't seem to be the case, though. Something else was at work. Something not he nor a medical team could fix.

He walked around and set the coffee cup on her bedside table before retracing his steps to his side of the bed where he sat down and took a sip. "Woman," he said.

A muffled groan answered him as she rolled over toward his voice, flopping her arm over his lap before her eyes cracked open a bit. "What time is it?" she mumbled.

All he had to do was look at his phone. "Around eight," he said. Ulquiorra brushed some hair off of her face. "I'm going to let you sleep, but I want to let you know I left a cup of coffee on your table."

"Do you have to go soon? Shit, I have to go soon," she said, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and scooting up to a seated position. "I had a nightmare last night, I think. I couldn't sleep for awhile," she admitted before reaching for her coffee.

"I know. I felt you move last night. Do you want to tell me what is keeping you awake?"

"I can't remember after I wake up. I just remember feeling really scared. The last time I felt that scared was during the last war. Like the kind of fear… Like when you think there is a decent chance you won't survive," she said before taking a sip of the coffee.

The unhappy look on his face appeared again. Another sigh. Another mouthful of coffee. "That sounds concerning. Have you ever seen a doctor for your problem?"

"Do you mean like a therapist?" She chuckled and shook her head. "Ah, no. A therapist would think I was crazy."

Of course. A normal doctor would think she was insane. He didn't think the soul society would offer some kind of service like that. "Right. What about the nightmares?"

"I don't usually have nightmares. I dunno why I'm having them now, but it's not unusual to have vivid, bizarre dreams during pregnancy. I had them with Kazui, but I don't remember them being super scary; they were more sexual. Bizarre, sometimes mildly disturbing, but not terrifying sexual dreams."

"I'm aware that you have sexual dreams. I read about some of them in those journals you let me read."

Orihime froze. Had she really written about those? Dear lord. He must think her a deviant. "I… I'm sorry?" she whispered, her face starting to burn in shame.

"No. Do not be sorry. Some of them were," he paused to choose his wording, "shocking, but they gave me insight into what you were like after my death," Ulquiorra sighed. "It also turned me on to read about them. Most of the ones you had included me, did you know that?"

Her eyes snapped to his. Surely he was kidding. She stared at him for a moment and realized he was not. "No," she admitted. "How… I need to read them."

Ulquiorra cleared his throat. "In that tote, there was also a letter, a picture of you and Arisawa… Why did you keep that bracelet?"

"A bracelet? Oh, you mean the one that Tsukishima-" she stopped. She knew; he had already told her that Tsukishima was not the one that gave her the piece of silver jewelry in the dangai. "You gave it to me, didn't you?"

A nod. "Yes, I had one on. I followed you around for a month. The only reason you didn't detect me was because of it."

"Wait a second, so you're telling me we had matching jewelry?" She looked at the dresser, remembering the grief she felt when she finally took off her wedding ring after Ichigo died. She had kept it in a small box with the other jewelry he had given her over the years. Did she hold onto the bracelet from Ulquiorra for the same reason? To have a physical object to hold onto and feel a connection to him? She didn't know, and it broke her heart, but she couldn't think of any other explanation. "I probably kept it so that I could remember you."

"But you didn't remember me. You still don't remember me. I know you try, but you can't remember me," Ulquiorra said, staring at the liquid in his cup. A heavy feeling settled in his stomach.

A hand landed softly on his forearm. "I'm so sorry, Ulquiorra."

Shaking his head, Ulquiorra said, "Don't be. I'm only afraid that when you do remember, you'll hate me."

"Look at me, Ulquiorra," she commanded, in a soft, firm voice.

He didn't want to. Ulquiorra didn't want her to see how vulnerable he felt at that moment. "What? It might happen. Everything I did will come rushing back and you'll think I'm a monster."

"Maybe you were a monster," she said, her fingers pulling his chin toward her face and catching his eyes. He looked so small at that moment, and her heart wrenched. "Maybe you were Aizen's right hand. I don't care. That's not who you are now. And honestly, I don't believe that's who you were then, either."

It was on the tip of his tongue to refute this claim but he said nothing. How could she have such blind faith in him? Why did she have it? It took several long minutes for him to speak. "Perhaps."

She exhaled heavily. He didn't believe her. She didn't know what she could do to convince him. She knew what she wanted to do now, though, so she sat up on her knees and kissed him, then gave him a tight hug with her arms around his neck. She was quiet, taking deep breaths and letting the scent of his hair fill her lungs and wash away the sadness that was settling upon her. "I will always love you, Ulquiorra. Have faith in me," she finally whispered.

He hugged her back, wishing Kurosaki hadn't messed with her memories just because he was a jealous asshole. "Do you want to read the journals, still?"

She nodded into his hair. "Yes. Maybe tonight after work. I want you to be here when I do."

"We can read them in bed if you're too tired to sit downstairs and read."

"I think it's better to read them away from the kids. I don't want them to see me upset, and I am sure I will become upset. Not only that, but I remember what I wrote in that last journal," she sighed and backed up so she could see his face, but didn't release his neck. Her face was bright red again. "Did you think I was a total slut or what?"

He shook his head as he stared at Orihime. "No, never. I found you to be even more desirable. I wanted you more."

Emotion swelled up from her guts to her eyes, which started to become glassy as she blinked away tears before they could form. "I am so, so grateful for you," she breathed before kissing him, gently lapping at his mouth and lingering to breathe his breath. "I love you," she murmured against his lips.

"I love you, Orihime."

Orihime helped get her family off to school before getting herself ready for work. She was feeling better after her conversation with Ulquiorra, but she was still a little sluggish from lack of sleep. Once again, she was grateful to her staff for picking up the slack in the shop. Ai and old Endo-san had been there since early in the morning, baking and slinging coffees to customers on their way to work.

Speaking of Ai, Orihime was now watching her with a more critical eye, despite her gratitude, ever since Ulquiorra's comment about the woman bearing a similarity to Urahara. She kept a closer eye than usual on the heavily-made-up woman, but was unable to find anything offensive in her work or behavior.

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that Ulquiorra might be onto something. She had security cameras in the shop, but she never, ever, watched the feeds. In fact, since moving in with Ulquiorra, she hadn't even unpacked the computer that the security footage was uploaded to. Right now she had a cloud service that saved seventy-two hours worth of security video and then deleted it forever. Maybe this weekend she would set that computer up and take a look at the feeds.

In the meantime, Orihime decided to have a little chat with her newest employee. After the lunch rush, Orihime came over from the shop and found Ai in the kitchen, whipping up some cream for a mousse.

"So, Ai, how is it coming along for you here at Halcyon? Have you had any issues with the rest of the staff or Cifer-san?" she asked innocuously.

Ai shook her head before adding the measured amount of sugar to the mixture. "No, not at all. If anything, Cifer-san is overly polite and off-putting at times," she replied giving the woman a small smile before going back to her task. "I am again grateful for this opportunity to work."

"I'm glad to hear it. Cifer-san is, um, foreign-born, so his customs are sometimes a bit jarring to new people. He means well, though," Orihime said with a smile.

"Yeah, he looks foreign. Eriko doesn't look foreign though. She's a cute kid."

"Absolutely adorable," Orihime agreed. "Such a sweetheart, too." Orihime watched for the woman's reaction with kind eyes.

Ai nodded. She had really expected the kid to have a nasty temperament, considering who her mother was. "Except when she argues with her dad or Kazui. He's a chill dude. Just goes with whatever."

Orihime laughed at that. "He didn't use to be. After his father died, he went through a rebellious phase. Since Cifer-san came into our lives he's had a real turn-around, though," she said, letting her guard down. She realized too late that she was being overly familiar, given hers and Ulquiorra's lack of trust in the woman. No matter though, it's not that it was secret information; just a bit too personal.

The employee nodded again. "I can see Cifer-san whipping people into shape. He seems… Militaristic. I can't imagine a relationship with him would be easy."

Orihime's brows knit and lowered as she shook her head at her employee. "He is not very demonstrative except to those closest to him, but he isn't hawkish or anything like that. He's a wonderful father and partner," she said, sounding a bit defensive.

"I didn't mean that in a bad way. He seems disciplined, I guess. It would be the better word for how he carries himself. My apologies, Kurosaki-san. If you'll excuse me, I have to finish this dessert."

Orihime did not like this at all. Was she being dismissed? Was this woman thinking she called the shots? And what was with the way she said 'Kurosaki-san' as if to emphasize that her name was different from Ulquiorra's? "Actually, Ai, I will finish that up. You can go take care of the front-of-house for awhile."

Ai nodded and wiped her hands on a towel before she left the kitchen. When Orihime was behind her, a smile spread over her face. Yuko said it would be easy to put cracks in the foundation of their relationship. All she had to do was make Orihime doubt things. She had to flirt with the man. She could swindle them while she was at it.

As soon as the worker had left the kitchen, Orihime pulled out her phone and texted Ulquiorra.

- You're right. That Ai is not trustworthy, I think. She just tried to tell me what to do! And acted like it was all just a matter of course. If we didn't need someone like her so badly I would have put her on notice.

Ulquiorra smiled as he got his girlfriend's text. He had a free period while the students were in P.E.. He had told her that there was something about Yamada that he didn't like.

- What did she say to you? It might be an excuse to find someone else.

Orihime was still fuming as she tapped out a response.

- She talked about you a lot. Thought you were militaristic and said she thought it must be hard to have a relationship with you, and after I defended us she called me "Kurosaki-san" like it was some kind of dirty word! Then, THEN, she told ME to excuse HER so she could get back to a task, as if she called the shots around here!

It really sounded like Orihime was overreacting to him, but he did not inform her of this. It wouldn't do to make her upset.

- Woman. Think about this. I am somewhat militaristic; at least I was before you came into my life. Kurosaki-san is your name at the moment. In the future it will change. It could be that she was uncomfortable with the subject or her opinions of me and wanted to get back to work. I do this sometimes when I feel on the verge of offending my boss or coworkers.

Orihime got stuck on the fifth sentence for a moment. It would? Was he implying he thought they would get married? The last time they spoke of this he didn't even really want to talk about it. She shook her head. That was beside the point at the moment. She read the rest of his message again before responding.

- You may be right, but it was quite off-putting.

He nodded. The woman's actions the other night were odd to him.

- I told you there was something about her that I was uncomfortable with. Besides Yamada, how has your day been?

- Fine. I'm feeling good today, despite the lack of sleep. You?

A frown crossed his face and his eyebrows drew together. The lack of sleep thing still concerned him.

- You must sleep more. You're creating a human.

- Yes sir. I will not have any caffeine today. Promise. I love you.