A/N: And...we're back! After Ulquiorra returns to Karakura for work, leaving Orihime up north with his family, communication between the couple grows stagnant. Both of them begin questioning the other's feelings and motives. Turns out they aren't the only ones with questions about the validity of the relationship!

language notes:

1. sembei: rice cracker

2. shacho: company president

Thanks to EIV and roseeyes for beta reading this one!

Chapter 13

"Cifer-san, you really think avoidance is the best course, here?" Ayasegawa asked, carefully softening his tone so as not to provoke Ulquiorra's barely contained ire. The senior co-worker and Asano had plied the green-eyed man with whisky, and, although Ulquiorra wasn't sloshed, he was definitely a lot more loose-lipped than normal. Ulquiorra had just ended a rant about his colleagues' poor work performance, but added a caveat that he could not completely blame the man in question for ducking into the break room whenever Aizen was in the building; he had been doing the same thing to his wife whenever she asked him what was wrong.

"Do you have a better course of action in mind? I think I have made my intentions perfectly clear, and all she does is zig when I zag," Ulquiorra replied after setting his highball glass down with a heavy clunk.

Asano and Ayasegawa glanced at one another in confusion, then the latter asked, "What do you mean when you say she zigs?"

Ulquiorra scoffed and took another sip of his drink, setting it back down hard again before answering, "I mean, the innocent flower act was cute before we were married, but she always acts so proper and polite and…" he trailed off, his volume lowering as he realized what he was feeling, "cold."

That's what it was. Although Orihime seemed kind and sweet, the lack of enthusiasm on her part was discouraging her husband.

Keigo's brows drew together. He had met his coworker's bride and found his words hard to believe. "Cold? Cifer-san, the last word I would use to describe Orihime-chan is cold. "

Green eyes narrowed and Ulquiorra's face turned Keigo's with a barely restrained sneer. "What gives you the right to speak of her so casually?"

"Calm down, Cifer-san," Yumichika said, patting his shoulder a couple of times. "I'm sure Asano-kun didn't mean anything by it. Your wife is just easy to talk to and she makes people feel at ease."

This was clearly the wrong thing to say to Ulquiorra, who tensed as his attention turned to the older man, his white-knuckled fists rising to press against the edge of the bar. "At ease? At ease ?! I assure you that I feel anything but ease in her presence. Frustrated. Nervous. Anxious. Angry-"

That last word drew a frown from Yumichika. "Anger? Cifer-san, I cannot abide you taking out your anger on your wife," he scolded, his usual airy expression clouded with disapproval. "I am quite certain she has done nothing to deserve it."

Ulquiorra's hands went to his hair, which he pulled back slowly with a frustrated growl. "That is not what I meant, Ayasegawa," he said after a moment through gritted teeth. The nerve of these two so-called friends! He was trying to get answers about his wife's mysterious behavior and all they were doing was trying to bring him down.

Ayasegawa's brows lifted, asking, "Then what, pray tell, did you mean?"

Ulquiorra sighed and took a sip of his almost empty drink, not noticing that another customer had entered the bar and sat at a table within earshot. "She won't talk to me," he said, sounding defeated.

That earned a scoff from Keigo. "Have you tried? You're not exactly Mr. Personality or anything."

Eyes like daggers shifted to the originator of the question. "I have," Ulqiuorra droned. "She just listens and nods and then clams up."

Keigo hummed and nodded. "So you think she doesn't like you, or do you just think you are boring?"

Ayasegawa cut in, scowling in disapproval at Asano for his flippancy, "Have you considered that you make her feel nervous or frustrated?"

Ulquiorra's severe frown lifted slightly with a sarcastic scoff. "Frustrated? She has zero interest in sex or anything like that. Everytime I touch her she turns to stone."

"Huh. Are you sure you're doing it right?" Keigo asked.

"Oh for god's sake," Yumichika hissed as he got between the two men before their poor communication had a chance to escalate into something more damaging.

He looked Ulquiorra straight in the eyes and held his gaze. "Listen, Cifer-san, I've seen her with you. I have seen how she looks at you. I have seen how she hangs on your every word. I know she cares for you and admires you. You are missing something, here."

With a huff, Ulquiorra took his phone out of his pocket. He fiddled with it for a moment and then set it on the bar in front of him. On the screen was a selfie of his wife smiling and looking relaxed as she stood in front of a shrine next to his sister and a man with blue hair. "I don't think I am, Ayasegawa," he said, sliding the device towards him.

The older man picked up the phone and looked at the message under the photo:

From: Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez

22.6.21 at 14:12

Got your girl ready for your wedding. Making sure she gets practice before then. You snooze, you lose, chump. I can't understand why you would leave a nice little city mouse here alone with us wildcats.

Yumichika grimaced slightly. No wonder Ulquiorra was in such a mood. Still, he could not believe that the man's bride would step out on him, especially not with someone as unstable and aggressive looking as this person with blue hair. "I think you should talk with her, Cifer-san. Don't you think it's possible you're getting jealous over nothing?"

Ulquiorra swiped his phone back, accidentally closing the message and opening another one from his sister from the day prior, which contained a photo of the back of his wife's bare neck, shoulders, and a bit of the side of her face as she sat in an onsen. The message had been scathing.

From: Rukia Abarai

21.6.21 at 11:12

Stop being an asshole and get up here. You are stressing her out. Besides, look at what you've been missing?

Uquiorra read it and sighed. Okay, so maybe he was being jealous. Maybe he should be up there with her. But, he needed to work! She had no income…. Maybe that was it. "She just wants me for security."

With that, a rare, severe scowl marred Keigo's face as he stood from his seat to stare down at Ulquiorra. "How dare you say that, Cifer. You just wanted her to get ahead! You've been using her for your own financial security from the beginning and now you want to punish her for it? From what I've seen, she has been supportive and kind. You should consider yourself lucky! I'm leaving." Keigo's barstool scraped against the concrete floor of the establishment with a loud rattle as he pushed off the bar.

Ulquiorra's brows shot up as he watched Keigo turn towards the door and shook his head. He had no business sitting in a bar getting drunk while he had so much serious pondering to do. "No, I'll go. See you at the office," Ulquiorra said as he pushed past the other two men and left.

It wasn't until the door closed behind him that a mane of thick blonde hair whipped around. "Kawa-chan! Keigo-kun! I didn't know that you two knew Cifer-san!" the woman exclaimed.

"Oh! Ran-chan! I never saw you come in, please take a seat," Keigo said, relaxing his posture and moving to allow her to sit between them against the bar.

There was a knock on her door before Orihime heard a soft, "Are you still awake?"

"Rukia, is that you?" she replied, rubbing her eyes. Orihime had not been asleep, her mind too occupied with doubts to find rest. She tossed the covers off of her legs, stood, made sure her yukata was secured and went to open the sliding door.

Her sister-in-law stood in the hallway with a tray full of sembei and a couple cans of beer on it. "Impromptu sister party. Let me in?"

Orihime nodded and stepped back, waiting for the shorter woman to pass through the door before sliding it shut. "What's the occasion?"

Rukia only smiled at her briefly before making her way to the tea table near the window. She set the tray down and sat on a cushion, cracked open one of the beers, sighed, and finally said, "We need to have a little chat about my brother."

Orihime sighed and took a seat opposite Rukia. "Yeah…"

"When was the last time you talked to him?"

Orihime reached for the other beer and opened it, taking a sip before answering, "The week after he went back we spoke every night like we always do. The next week he said he was too busy and only texted me a few apologies. I haven't heard from him since last Wednesday."

Rukia nearly spit out the gulp of beer in her mouth. With some effort, she finally swallowed it down and gasped, "What the hell is wrong with him?! Your wedding is this weekend! Have you reached out to him?"

Orihime grimaced. "I texted him that day to ask him how his day was, and he just complained about work and did not ask me anything. Then he said he didn't have time to keep chatting."

"Asshole," Rukia murmured, frowning at the black beyond the window.

The two women were silent for a minute except for the crinkling and ripping of cellophane wrapping as each chose a piece of sembei to munch on.

"I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This was always just business with him. Was he always this way, Rukia?"

The dark-haired woman appeared to channel her older brother, her face relaxing into a neutral expression, a lock of hair falling between her brows as she seemed to lose herself in thought. "Yes, he always was, almost all the time. But…"

Orihime watched in wonder as her new friend and sister-in-law appeared to wear her husband's image, surprised at how strong the sensation of missing him pulled at her chest. "But what?"

Rukia's eyes found Orihime's. "I just don't get it." She shook her head and took another sip before continuing, "He is the same as always - except when he watches you."

Orihime frowned. "But he has been acting so cold-"

"I know! But he lights up around you. When you aren't looking, he is fixated on you."

Orihime was still doubtful. "I wonder why that would be," she said so quietly that Rukia could barely hear it. Rukia did not interrupt, though, waiting for Orihime to continue, "He doesn't even know me."

A single tiny black brow rose. "And do you think you know him?"

"Touché," she said, and then smirked. "At least I know that he is a fencer. He has never asked about my past."

"Have you offered any information?" Rukia asked doubtfully.

"No, but he's always so closed off and guarded!" Orihime pouted.

Rukia scoffed. "Aren't you? Orihime, don't get me wrong, I really like you and I think you're good for my brother, but you aren't exactly an open book. You're friendly and welcoming and warm and charming, but… You don't talk about yourself."

Orihime frowned. She was complaining, and she knew it. She nibbled on her sembei and tried to think of some excuse for the points Rukia had brought up but, but she couldn't. Rukia was right.

"Orihime, if I asked you a few questions, would you be honest with me?"

The redhead's expression relaxed, her eyes opening wider as she considered this question. "Of course I would," she answered after a second.

"Do you want to stay married to him?"

Orihime felt like she couldn't breathe suddenly. Did she?

She wasn't happy as things were right now. And she hadn't been lying - not only did it feel like she and Ulquiorra didn't know much about each other, they also had not known each other for long at all.

Still… The thought of separating from him filled her with sadness. Before she knew what was going on in her heart, her lower lip jutted out and tears filled her eyes.

"Oh no, Orihime! I'm sorry!" Rukia said, standing and coming to her side and patting her upper back. "It's okay. If you can't stand it, I'm sure we can cancel everything and you won't have to worry-"

"No!" Orihime cried before clapping a hand over her mouth. She shook her head and looked tearfully at her sister-in-law, realizing what she would be losing by divorcing Ulquiorra. It wasn't just him. It was her and Hisana, Renji and Ichika, and even Byakuya and his ragtag employees. Her future children as well. All those potential losses stacked up felt awful, but none of them compared to the thought of losing him.

Ulquiorra.

He was the reason she was here in the first place. She knew, as she felt the stab of imagined loss in her heart, that she was falling in love with him. She didn't want to give him up. She just wanted things back on track.

She wiped her eyes and looked at Rukia, snorting to clear her nostrils. "I don't want to do that. I just… I miss him. I want things to go back to how they were before he left. I don't know what happened and why he has been so distant since then."

"You really love him?" Rukia asked, seemingly surprised.

Orihime nodded with a pout.

"Okay… Why, though? He has been making you miserable."

Orihime sighed. Rukia was right, she was miserable. "I don't know if it's because he is acting differently or if it's because we're not together lately. But I still feel the same about him."

"I know, but why?" Rukia pressed. "Why not transfer those feelings to someone else if he is so inattentive? I mean, Grimmjow has been up your ass lately; I'm sure he wouldn't mind keeping you company."

Orihime scoffed gently. "As if, Rukia. Grimmjow isn't on Ulquiorra's level at all."

That made the shorter woman smile. "Oh yeah? How is Ulquiorra on such a higher level than Grimmjow?"

"Well, for one, Ulquiorra is super smart. He's responsible and secure and goal-oriented."

"Wow, Orihime. And here I thought you were a romantic," Rukia said with a snicker.

Orihime rolled her eyes and wiped the last of the tears that clung to the lashes. "It's not only practical ways that Ulquiorra is better. He's handsome. He's full of surprises. He's got a great smile…" Orihime trailed off, a small, dreamy smile pulling at her lips as her face began to color.

"I say, Orihime - are you blushing?"

Orihime cleared her throat. "Um, I might be."

Rukia laughed wickedly. "Okay, okay, so it can't just be the smile that's got you this embarrassed. What aren't you telling me?"

Orihime whined, straightening her arms at her sides and balling her fists before huffing and grabbing her beer. She took a long drink, set it down with a dull thunk, and answered, "He's a really good kisser, okay? He makes me feel like the world is spinning."

"Ewwwwwwwww!"

Rangiku drained her drink as she listened to Keigo and Yumichika relay their conversation with Ulquiorra. "Wow," she said. "It's worse than I thought."

"What did you think?" Yumichika asked.

"I don't know. I know they are stupidly into each other, but emphasis on stupid . Neither of them really knows how to communicate. I think they threw themselves into the deep end getting married so quickly."

"Well, he was in a rush. That's why he decided to do an omiai," Keigo muttered.

Rangiku's brows rose. "Why was he in a rush?"

"Oh, a promotion was on the line. I told him he'd have a better shot at it if he was married, so he went out and found poor Orihime-chan and somehow managed to get her to agree-"

"And Ju got sick at the same time… Damn it," Rangiku cursed. She always had her suspicions about the timing of Orihime's relationship and now it was pretty apparent that they were well-founded. Still… "But, you should have seen them up north. They were electric, the way they kept looking at each other. I can't believe that there is nothing there besides an arrangement."

Keigo sighed and shrugged. "I don't know, Matsumoto-san. Maybe you should set him straight, because he sounds super insecure about Orihime-chan's feelings."

The next day Ulquiorra dragged at work. He hadn't slept well after arriving at home, then warring with himself and eventually deciding against calling Orihime. He woke up in the morning feeling gloomy, and that feeling followed him throughout the day. He did not even notice when, at around five in the evening, a familiar woman's voice floated through the office of EspaCorp.

"Yoohoo! Oh, hello, Asano-san! Hi Kawa-chan! Everybody working hard?" Rangiku seemed to sing as she sashayed through the office, following discreet hand signals from Yumichika to navigate to Ulquiorra's workstation.

All eyes were on her as she stopped beside his desk. All eyes except his, anyway. "Ahem. Good evening, Cifer-san. Did you forget about our appointment?"

"Appointment? Why would I have an appointment with- Oh," he droned, finally looking up into the blonde's face and recognizing her. "What are you doing here, Matsumoto?"

"That's Matsumoto- san to you, Cifer," Rangiku replied with an uncharacteristic frown. "I have a van downstairs full of your wife's personal items, which I intend to deliver to your shared residence."

"Tonight?"

Rangiku crossed her arms over her chest and tipped her chin up, looking down at Ulquiorra at a severe angle. "Tonight. The clock is ticking, Cifer-san. I rented the van by the hour."

"Oh ho ho! Who is this, Cifer-san?" the voice of his boss, Sousuke Aizen, intoned from the conference room door. "Such lovely visitors you always have."

Ulquiorra growled under his breath and stood, turning to face his boss. "Aizen-shacho, this is Rangiku Matsumoto, my, um, in-law. She is here to help deliver some of my wife's items to our apartment."

Rangiku smiled and bowed to the well-dressed businessman. "Yes, Orihime-chan was my roommate before your dashing young engineer swept her off her feet. Are all of your employees as charming as you, Shacho?"

Ulquiorra had to close his lids to disguise the severity with which he rolled his eyes. Rangiku's flattery was obnoxious. There was absolutely no way that Aizen would-

"Charm recognizes charm, Matsumoto-san. I would love to have an opportunity to speak to you about it - and perhaps show you the hospitality my organization can afford you - at a later date," he said, sliding a card out of a gold case in his suit pocket and passing it to her smoothly.

Aizen took a step back and grinned at the woman and then Ulquiorra. "Well, I won't delay you any longer. Cifer, please do not keep Matsumoto-san waiting."

Ulquiorra glanced up at Rangiku and bit back a snarl as he took in her smug expression. He had never made arrangements with her to transfer Orihime's belongings tonight. He had work to finish! He had-

He had nothing.

He sighed and tapped a few keys to save his work and log out of his workstation. The only thing he felt that he had to do was keep busy and ignore the growing distance between him and his wife. It did not appear like that was going to happen tonight.

"Two and a half more days, Cifer-san. Are you excited?" Rangiku asked as she walked through the living room of his apartment with the last box of Orihime's clothes from the van. "On Saturday everything will be official. Is there anything you need to know?"

Ulquiorra grunted, taking the box from the woman and walking it to his bedroom. "Not really," he called out from inside.

"No?" Rangiku asked, leaning against the bedroom door frame. "Well, I have a few questions."

"What?" Ulquiorra's voice was as flat as the frown on his face.

Rangiku was undeterred. "Well, it's my understanding that you only married my niece because you wanted to use the status she provides you with to get a promotion. Is that true?"

If Ulquiorra could have, he would have choked. He actually took a step backward at the boldness of her question. "What? No, and I do not appreciate the insinuation that I would just marry anyone to get ahead. Obviously my wife has other assets."

"Wow," Rangiku said, voice thick with sarcasm. "How romantic."

Ulquiorra's nostrils flared. He was tired of this. "I will have you know that I did , in fact, have more than merely practical considerations in mind before deciding to marry Orihime."

Rangiku smirked and slipped a hand into her pocket, pulling out her phone and pretending to be interested in the screen and not in Ulquiorra's words. "Oh? What kinds of considerations? Are you trying to tell me that you are attracted to my niece?"

Ulquiorra scoffed. "Of course I am. Who wouldn't be? She is objectively beautiful."

Rangiku nodded and mimicked Ulquiorra's stoic demeanor as she mocked him. "Oh, yes, of course. Quite right. Objectively beautiful. Just like an exotic car or a racehorse."

Ulquiorra pressed his lips together in frustration. "Not just objectively. Come on, Matsumoto."

"No! You come on, Cifer! I am friends with Asano and Ayasegawa; we are drinking buddies! I did not know you worked together, but I overheard some of what you said last night at that whisky bar, and they filled me in on the rest. You have two minutes to convince me not to tell Orihime-chan to divorce you tomorrow!" Rangiku said sternly, although the gleam in her eye hinted that she was enjoying this.

Ulquiorra was taken aback at this information. "Well, I…" he stammered, trying to think about his next move. "I… She…"

"She what? Tick tock, Cifer," Rangiku prodded, looking at her phone again like it was much more interesting than he was.

"She's beautiful! She is kind and caring and helpful. She is considerate and responsive and flexible and much more charming than I could ever dream to be. She is sexy and fun and I just- Argh!" he growled, sitting heavily on the side of his bed with his back to the woman in the doorway, causing the boxes on the surface to bounce. "She is too good for me, and I fear she may be starting to realize that."

Rangiku sighed and then slipped her phone into her pocket. "Do you need any help sorting this out?"

Ulqiuorra shook his head. "No. You should get going, Matsumoto-san. Would you like me to call you a cab?"

Rangiku shook her head. "No, I have a friend waiting for me in the van," she said and then walked to the entrance and slipped her shoes on, before adding, "Oh, and word to the wise, Cifer-san? Don't keep your thoughts to yourself. And you should probably check your messages."

With a smirk towards the green-eyed man, Rangiku let herself out of the apartment, snickering as she tapped the screen of her phone.

Inside his apartment, Ulquiorra was too wound up to take the blonde's advice at the moment. He got to work sorting through Orihime's things, putting away what he could and neatly stacking boxes of items he thought she would appreciate sifting through herself.

He sat on his bed with a heavy sigh a couple of hours later, clad in his underwear, staring at the ceiling and worrying. What if this evening was a complete waste of time? What if, by the end of the weekend, he would have to just pack it all up and ship it back to Matsumoto?

He needed to sleep. He picked up his phone to use his smarthome app to turn off the lights, but saw a message from his sister.

What did Rukia want?

From: Rukia Kuchiki

24.6.21 at 20:12

You think you're so wise sitting down there brooding and trying to figure out how you are blameless in this situation, aren't you? You think Orihime is "cold" and "using you"? Maybe you should just ask her how she feels, dumbass.

From: Rukia Kuchiki

24.6.21 at 20:16

Actually, I'm not waiting for you to pull your head out of your ass. Knowing you, brother, you'll never swallow your pride and ask her. Well, maybe you need to hear it anyway. Listen in private.

Attached to the message was an audio file. Ulquiorra frowned as he fished around in his nightstand for a pair of bluetooth earbuds, then popped them in and pressed play. He immediately recognized the voices that came through the devices as those belonging to his sister and Orihime:

"Orihime, if I asked you a few questions, would you be honest with me?...Do you want to stay married to him?...Oh no, Orihime! I'm sorry! It's okay. If you can't stand it, I'm sure we can cancel everything and you won't have to worry-"

"No! I don't want to do that. I just… I miss him. I want things to go back to how they were before he left. I don't know what happened and why he has been so distant since then."

"You really love him?... Okay… Why, though? He has been making you miserable."

"I don't know if it's because he is acting differently or if it's because we're not together lately, but I still feel the same about him."

"I know, but why? Why not transfer those feelings to someone else if he is so inattentive? I mean, Grimmjow has been up your ass lately; I'm sure he wouldn't mind keeping you company."

"As if, Rukia. Grimmjow isn't on Ulquiorra's level at all."

"Oh yeah? How is Ulquiorra on such a higher level than Grimmjow?"

"Well, for one, Ulquiorra is super smart. He's responsible and secure and goal-oriented."

"Wow, Orihime. And here I thought you were a romantic."

"It's not only practical ways that Ulquiorra is better. He's handsome. He's full of surprises. He's got a great smile…"

"I say, Orihime - are you blushing?"

"Um, I might be."

"Okay, okay, so it can't just be the smile that's got you this embarrassed. What aren't you telling me?"

"He's a really good kisser, okay? He makes me feel like the world is spinning."

"Ewwwwwwwww!"

Ulquiorra lay there stunned. He made her feel like the world was spinning? He made her blush?

He did not dare to allow himself to speculate on his sister's question about whether his wife loved him. Orihime's answer was inaudible, and he would be jumping the gun to assume her answer.

His heart seemed to fill in the blanks, though, as it pounded in his chest. Ulquiorra's breath labored. He needed a drink of water. He padded to the kitchen and poured a glass, taking a few sips before setting it down.

He did not realize what he was doing until he was halfway dressed.

It was crazy. It was nearly eleven at night, and he had work the next day.

The room went dark for a moment before his head popped out of his black t-shirt. He contemplated packing a bag, but decided anything he needed could be purchased up in Akita.

Ulquiorra stopped at his door and took a deep breath. There would be a taxi waiting for him outside of the lobby in two minutes. It was going to be a seven-hour long, outrageously expensive trip up to his hometown.

Was it worth it?

Well, he was going to find out.

CLIFFHANGER! Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought about the chapter. They are what motivate me to write faster!