Orihime could barely keep her eyes opened, but had to in order to have a proper conversation with her friends. She noticed them standing behind her door as Ulquiorra parked the vehicle. Rukia and Chad gave her a wave as she got out of the vehicle, Ulquiorra grabbing her suitcase. Ichigo gave her a simple nod with a short smile, and Uryu wasn't looking at her at all. Instead, his gaze was on the Espada.

"Welcome back! You look very tired,"

"Thank you, Rukia! I didn't get to sleep during the flight. I'm really tired,"

She held onto Ulquiorra's arm for support as she forced her eyes to stay open. Uryu wasn't making any eye contact with her, and she felt a sense of guilt building up into her chest.

"Well...Um...Since you're very tired we can always come back tomorrow," Ichigo stated.

"Th-That'll be good!"

Ulquiorra unlocked the apartment door, allowing her to walk in first before entering himself with her luggage.

Ichigo, Chad, and Rukia stared at them with wide eyes as Ulquiorra said something to her, and she nodded with a tired smile before disappearing further into the apartment. Uryu, who watched everything from the corner of his eyes, turned towards the Espada.

"We need to talk,"

The Espada looked back at him, hands casually inside the pockets of his jeans, "Do we? I assumed that by now, you would have gotten the hint."

"Hint? What are you talking about?"

Rukia wanted to intervene before things turned ugly. Last thing she wanted was a fight between the Quincy and Hollow in Karakura Town. While she was astonished at the fact that the Cuatro Espada held romantic feelings over Orihime, she was more shocked at Uryu's obliviousness over the fact that their human friend was taken.

"The woman is with me, Quincy. She belongs to me,"

"You bastard," Uryu said, taking closer steps to him, "You're manipulating her! She's innocent! She doesn't know what she wants!"

"Your delusions are stopping you from realizing the truth. She doesn't want you, Quincy."

Uryu took two more steps before Ichigo quickly appeared in front of him, holding him with a steadied hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, I'm not comfortable with this either, but be careful not to provoke this guy. You know the type of damage he can do-"

"I'll kill him before he can even escape that Gigai," Uryu threatened.

"Choose your words wisely, Quincy,"

"Or what, Espada-"

"Uryu, stop," interrupted Rukia, "We understand your pain, but all of this would just upset Orihime. I think it'll be best to stop by tomorrow, when she's awake, and you can talk to her about it."

"But-"

"Rukia is right," Chad finally said, "For now, let's just go home. Our friend is tired and needs some rest."

Uryu stepped back with a nod. "Very well,"

Chad and Ichigo followed their friend away from the apartment complex. Rukia gave a slight nod and small smile towards the Espada before following them.

Ulquiorra closed and locked the door, walking towards the girl's bedroom.

Her hair, wet from her recent shower, sprawled across her pillow as she slept soundlessly. She barely had the sheets over her body, and Ulquiorra figured that she must've fallen asleep the moment her body hit the mattress. He wasn't surprised, considering she had been awake the entire flight.

Grabbing the bed sheet, he placed it over her body. He contemplated whether he should stay or leave, the decision not as easy as he thought. While he did want to give her freedom and space, he felt uneasy leaving her alone. She meant more to him now, and Karakura would always be a hotspot for Hollows and other villainous beings.

Making his decision, he removed his shoes and laid underneath the sheets next to her. Despite still being asleep, the human girl turned and shifted closer to him. She muttered something (Ulquiorra was getting used to her muttering random things in her sleep) before placing her head on his chest. Wrapping an arm around her, he placed a kiss on the top of her head and closed his eyes.

Twelve Hours Later…

By the time Orihime woke up, no longer feeling drowsy and as if her body was ready to collapse, it was nine in the morning of the next day. She rubbed her eyes as the bright sun shone through her window. Although it felt as if it was afternoon and not morning, thanks to the jetlag, Orihime stood from her bed and started to get ready.

As she brushed her teeth, she checked her phone. Her finger immediately opened the unread text from Ulquiorra.

"I will stop by tonight,"

Using one hand, she replied back immediately. "I can't wait!"

Once she was finished, she changed into comfortable clothes and started unpacking her suitcase. She was surprised that her suitcase hadn't gone beyond the weight limit, considering the number of items she brought back from Las Vegas, including the beautiful dress Ulquiorra bought her for Grimmjow and Nel's wedding, as well as the provocative one-piece suit that Rangiku had made her wear.

She hung the dress in the best hanger she had, knowing that it would come in handy the next time she went to a wedding or any extravagant event. The one-piece suit from Rangiku's was placed in a bottom drawer. Now that her and Ulquiorra were a couple, she didn't feel as shy wearing it around him. As a matter of fact, she wanted to. She wanted to see how he would react, and then do afterwards.

A couple of soft knocks interrupted her train of thought, and she immediately put the provocative suit away before rushing towards her front door. She unlocked and opened her apartment door, meeting Rukia's friendly smile.

"Oh, hi Rukia!"

"Hi. I wasn't sure if you were awake, or busy with something,"

"Oh, no worries at all! I was just unpacking. Come in!"

Rukia muttered a thank you as she entered the small place. She sat on the sofa as Orihime poured her some tea. The Shinigami gave her a smile as her friend handed her the mug. The ladies sat in silence for a moment, unsure of how to start the conversation. Eventually Rukia started.

"So, how was your trip? Did you have fun?"

Orihime replied with a smile. "Yes, it was very fun! We did skydiving, Nel and Grimmjow got married!"

"Oh, married? I thought they were just engaged?"

"They married in a chapel a few days later after the engagement. Nel looked amazing. I actually had to go with Grimmjow for him to get new pants that same day,"

"Why?"

"The ones he bought ripped when he was putting them on,"

"Did he not try them on first?"

"Nope,"

The girls laughed. Although she barely spoke with Grimmjow and didn't really ever want to, considering the type of fight they had years ago, she could imagine him in that scenario. What did surprise her, however, was the fact that he was now married.

"So...Um… you and Ulquiorra…"

"Mhmm…?"

"So...How did things start with you two?"

Nervously pushing a hair strand behind her ear, Orihime started to recall how she and Ulquiorra first started talking. It started simple - he would always be there whenever she was in trouble. Shortly afterwards, Orihime had started inviting him over for tea as she hadn't been sure on how to repay him for all the trouble she was causing.

"He never asked for anything," Orihime said with a shrug, "From there, we started having dinner together...He always paid...Always… He even bought me a new laptop...and picked me up from school for us to meet,"

Rukia's eyes were wide as she processed all of the information, "W-Wow… Orihime, sounds like he's been interested in you for months…"

Orihime remembered the conversation she had with Ulquiorra during Las Vegas; how he had been honest with her on his feelings and her obliviousness to them.

"Y-Yeah...we discussed about that during our trip,"

"H-he opened up to you?"

"Yeah,"

"And you two are dating?"

"Y-Yup! We're together…"

"Are you two serious?" Rukia asked, thinking about Uryu and how upset he had been. She watched as Orihime scratched the back of her head as her face reddened. Watching her friend nervously giggle made Rukia suddenly suspicious of what those two had done across the globe.

"Haha...w-well...Um...yeah...we're pretty...serious…"

"Orihime, I apologize if this question makes you uncomfortable...but...did you and Ulquiorra...have sex?"

Rukia studied her friend, watching as she nodded her head while keeping her face hidden. The Shinigami took her time processing the information, knowing that this would tremendously hurt their Quincy friend. It was one thing for Orihime and Ulquiorra to date. But to go as far and have sex? It was something she had not been expecting.

"W-Wow...I'm...surprised…"

"Y-Yeah, me too actually. But it felt...good, Rukia. He was gentle and...it felt great. I felt his love for me,"

Although Rukia still held some doubt (she couldn't help herself, she was a Soul Reaper after all), she hadn't missed the way Ulquiorra acted around her human friend. Her friend was naive and overly forgiving; having someone like Ulquiorra by her side would strengthen her mentality while still protecting her.

Orihime looked at Rukia with a worry on her face, "A-Are you...mad?"

"No, of course not! I'm just surprised, that's all. It'll take a while for me to fully understand, but if you're happy, then I'm happy,"

"Thank you, Rukia,"

The friends hugged, holding on to each other for a while. Neither of them could remember a time when they held each other like this. But it felt good knowing that Orihime had a friend like Rukia to open up to without judgement.

The girls separated and Rukia teasingly poked her side, "Not a problem, Orihime. I am genuinely happy for you. As long as he used protection protection and you both are responsible with your choices, then I'll be here rooting you on,"

At the girl's confused look, Rukia clarified her statement with a question. "He did use a condom, right?"

It wasn't always that Urahara would get a panicked Orihime and Rukia showing up in his shop. But when he did, it was always something that surprised him.

"Do you have a pregnancy test?" Rukia asked, knowing that her friend would be too shy to even ask.

Yoruichi almost spit her tea into her cup as Urahara simply dropped his fan, blinking at the two of them.

"Were the pharmacies closed on your way here?"

Rukia looked elsewhere, scratching the side of her head. "W-Well, since we're dealing with a non-human situation...I figured you would have something for us…"

Urahara looked from Rukia to Orihime and back to Rukia. Finally, he released a cough before turning around.

"Well, I do have something that Shinigamis tend to use, since the body composition is much different than a human's,"

He led them towards the back, noticing how Rukia was whispering reassuring words to the sun-haired girl.

Very interesting…

Opening a small cabinet, Urahara pulled out a white pregnancy stick.

"Unfortunately, this is the only one left. I haven't had anyone request one of these in years. Now, for which one of you is this for?"

"Give me that," Rukia said, grabbing the object from his hand and then ushering him away, "We'll let you know if we need more,"

Urahara nodded as he walked away, turning his head slightly as he saw Rukia give the stick and a plastic cup to Orihime before the sun-haired girl entered the restroom of his shop.

Even more interesting…

"So, what was that all about?" Yoruichi asked, scrolling through her smartphone.

"Hm, could be nothing...could be something… Our dear Orihime is taking a pregnancy test,"

Yoruichi looked up at him, her eyes widening before her head turned back to her phone.

"What?" Urahara asked, closing his fan.

"I started following Nel on social media. Looks like they were all in Las Vegas a couple of days ago,"

"Oh, how interesting!"

"Yup, and look at who's behind this picture of her and Grimmjow," she said, turning the phone towards him.

Urahara's eyes went from Nel's engagement ring to Ulquiorra and Orihime in the background….

Orihime who was wearing a very provocative one-piece suit…

Orihime who was casually sitting on Ulquiorra's lap while wearing said provocative one-piece suit…

Orihime who was casually sitting on Ulquiorra's lap in a strip club while wearing said provocative one-piece suit…

Orihime, who just came into his shop with her head down as if she had run over a puppy.

Orihime, who grabbed the pregnancy stick from Rukia….

And what did Rukia say when he asked them about checking a regular human pharmacy?

We're dealing with a non-human situation….

Orihime, who was clearly human...but not Ulquiorra.

"Oh my! Guess not everything stays in Vegas, does it!?"

She followed the strange instructions, clearly hand written by Urahara, and impatiently waited as the small glass within the stick showed the results. Her heart was beating frantically against her chest, as if ready to burst. Her eyes narrowed as the results finally displayed, leaving breathless as she dropped the stick to the floor. Her legs gave out too, alarming Rukia who was waiting behind the door.

"Orihime, is everything OK?"

No answer.

"I'm worried, I'm going to come in,"

Still no answer.

"Alright, I'm coming in!"

The Shinigami opened the door, her eyes going from her shocked friend to the stick on the floor. Her own eyes widened as well as the positive test results displayed brightly back up to her.

Author's Note: Thank you all to those who read and left me a review! Let me know what you thought of this chapter!