DISCLAIMER: i own absolutely nothing. sadly….

CHAPTER 2

I woke up in my bed, my covers pulled tightly around me. I was dizzy and confused. I didn't even remember what had happened to me…. suddenly I sat up, everything whooshing right back at once. The dream I had (again), waking up and crying (again), and then hearing his voice,seeing him in my living room, then fainting from the shock.

I suddenly felt dizzy again, having sat up far too quickly. I was such an airhead sometimes…

"You should try to be more cautious. You fainted and nearly struck your head on a table. I had to carry you back to your room." A voice said calmly

I gasped, snapping my attention to the corner of my room. Sitting there by the window, was Ulquiorra. He was reading what looked to be one of my horror novels from my book collection. Figures. My mind wandered away from me for a minute as I wondered how long he'd been sitting there reading. He looked like he was a good portion into the book, maybe about a fifth of the way in… Suddenly the situation really hit me. Ulquiorra was here. In my room. ALIVE. And in my room. My room…

I felt my face heat up as that thought hit me. A boy was in my room in the middle of the night with no one else in the house…. Ok, a former arrancar espada that could kill with the flick of his wrist (or even his finger. He did have that whole cero thing that came out of his fingertips….) and feel no remorse over it. But he's still a guy ok! While I was freaking out in my head, he must have noted the change in my attitude because he looked up from the book, (which I had noticed as my Stephen King novel, The Shining.)

"Is there something troubling you, Onna?" he asked, not even blinking. He was sitting in front of the window in such a way, that the moon illuminated his ivory skin, making him nearly glow, while shrouding his face in a dark shadow. His eyes shown brighter than ever in the dark room.

"...How are you here…?" I said after a moment. I was so confused and the pain from before was starting to return. My eyes were beginning to sting as I looked at him. He sat down the book on the windowsill and stood up, walking slowly over to my bed. I subconsciously locked away every detail of his movements and habits away safely. He came to stop at the foot of my bed reaching a hand out to rest it on my footboard. For the first time that night, he did not meet my eyes. And he did not answer my question. A deep feeling of dread filled my stomach as he continued to stay silent.

"…Your not really here…" I whispered, almost inaudibly. I felt the tears filling my eyes, and knew I would cry very soon. Ulquiorra continued to stay quiet, neither refuting nor ratifying my statement. For the first time in my life, I felt truly stupid. I admit to being an airhead, and I am quite prone to innocent mistakes, but I am actually very smart. Not many people know that I have placed third smartest in my entire class. But now, I felt like a complete idiot. Even if this weren't a dream (yes, I have accepted this as a dream) I would feel like an idiot. How could I believe wholly and truly that Ulquiorra had been here? I was such a fool…

The tears fell silently down my cheeks, blurring my vision behind a screen as I stared at my blanket. Suddenly I felt a cool hand touch my left cheek lightly, gently. I looked up and saw Ulquiorra looking intently at my tears. He had his left hand in his pocket, using his right one to trace the tears. He looked to be scrutinizing them closely.

"Tears are unbecoming of you. Onna. Personally, if I may be so direct in saying so, I prefer when you're smiling. You have a beautiful smile…" he said softly. I felt my face burn as I blushed maddeningly. What was he saying? How could he say that to me? The Ulquiorra I had known would never have said such a thing so frankly.

Suddenly the tears started coming faster, shocking both of us. He sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, moving his other hand from his pocket. He cupped my face gently in his hands, brushing away the tears as quickly as they came. A broken sob came from my throat, then another and another. Before I knew it, I was crying my eyes out into his chest, grasping onto his jacket for dear life. He made no move to remove me, instead deciding to wrap an arm around my back, soothing me by rubbing my head and playing with my hair. He said no sweet words, made no attempt at calming me. He just allowed me to soak his clothing as I sobbed out all my pain and sorrow, knowing that was the best cure for my heart.

I buried my face into his shoulder, tightening my grip as I held him close. He felt so solid in my hands, so warm… so real. The thought only made my heart ache more. He wasn't back. He wasn't alive and here in my arms like I so desperately wanted to believe. But… why did I want him to be here to begin with? I couldn't think of an answer.

"Are you finally calm now, Onna? Your tears seem to have finally ceased." He asked, no emotion in his voice. Just like before... I suddenly realized he was right. My tears had almost stopped, only a few escaping every few moments.

"…yeah… I'm fine now, I think…" I whispered into his collarbone, not lifting my head to meet his cold eyes. I didn't want him to let go of me, not now…

"I see. That's fortunate." He said softly into my hair, not loosening his arms from around my body. I prayed he wouldn't.

"Don't you think you should be getting your rest, Onna? It's late, and your eyes are far too dark. You seem as if you have not slept in a great time." He said, and I could just barely catch the concern coursing beneath his careful words.

"No, I'm fine, really…" I said, doing my best to fake a cheerful atmosphere. I even smiled a bit, but I could tell by how he stiffened slightly that he knew it was more forced than genuine. He had always been able to piece together my actions and words, had been able to decipher how I was feeling. I felt his body relax a fraction as he continued to think. I couldn't see his face, and for that I was thankful. I didn't want to see those eyes as they picked through my attitude and action

"…Why do you not wish to sleep? I know you are tired, I can hear it in your voice. I don't understand why you deny it so greatly. You should be able to rest, but you seem unable to do so…why is that?" he questioned me, not loosening his arms, his hand still playing softly with a few strands of my auburn hair.

I felt more tired than I'd felt in a long time. As usual, he was dead center on his accusations, and as usual, he knew it. I couldn't tell him about the dream. It would only make me cry again, and I'd already burdened him enough with my lack of any emotional control.

"…I have the feeling your not going to explain yourself to me… very well, I will not trouble you if you do not wish to speak to me of it. Despite this, you still need rest, Onna. You have not had sufficient sleep for a long time, most likely because of the dream you are continuously having… though I still have yet to know what it is that makes you so upset after awakening from it…" he drawled. My heart skipped a beat at his observation. How did he know?

"I-I'm a little tired I guess…" I chirped innocently, trying to change subject. I couldn't talk about that right now…

"…I see…" he said slowly before pulling his face away from my head. He let go of me and stood up. " I'll leave so you can rest than." He said as he raised a hand to rip open the air. I immediately panicked. It was almost instinct, impulsive. I jumped from my bed and wrapped my arms around him from behind, locking my hands around my wrists tightly, enclosing him. I knew if he wished he could throw me aside or through a wall with no difficulty but I didn't care. I wanted him to stay.

"Please, no! Don't leave me again! I can't bare it!" I yelled into his back. I started shaking into his body, my body convulsing painfully. He stiffened in my grip, no other reaction apparent. I didn't care. I was too scared of never seeing him again, of never hearing his voice. Of never holding his body to mine like this. Suddenly his cold hands grasped mine like iron fetters, almost prying them from my wrists, as I would not let go. He turned around, one of his hands holding mine tightly, as if frightened of letting go, threatening anything to try and make him release my hand.

"Onna…" he said as he tightened his grip on my hand. I returned it almost greedily. I looked up into those eyes, losing myself in the endless sea of emotions that shown there.

"…Stay… please…" I whispered, my voice shaking slightly. I couldn't look away as I silently pleaded with my eyes. Could he read my eyes like I could his?

"…Alright…" he said so softly, I had to strain to hear. My heart skipped once again as he walked past me, leading me back to my bed, never releasing my hand. I then realized that my head was spinning, I felt immensely dizzy.

"…You still need to rest Onna. I'll stay right here, but you need to sleep." He commanded as he stopped and let go of my hand. He gently placed his hands on my shoulders and nudged me onto my bed. I lay down obediently and he covered me up gently, but as he pulled away I gripped his hand once more. He looked down at me, slight confusion etching into his expression.

"What is it?" he asked patiently, not seeming to mind that I was being a terrible bother. I bit my lip painfully as I glanced away shyly, feeling a blush creep it's way across my cheeks.

"…Can you…lie with me? Please?" I asked so softly I half hoped he wouldn't hear. Almost unfortunately, he did because the shock was nearly slapped across his face as he looked at me. I hid my face as I blushed deeper. I couldn't believe I'd just asked that. What was wrong with me?

Suddenly Ulquiorra's hand left mine, and I looked up to see him walking away from me. What had I just done? I almost screamed as he walked around the edge of my bed, almost begged him to forgive me. Then I saw him stop on the other side of my bed. Before I knew what he was doing, he had removed his sandals and kneeled onto my bed. He smoothed over my comforter and lay on top, obviously giving me a little space instead of slipping underneath it with me.

As I looked into his eyes, he laid on his right side, facing me, the broken helmet-like mask sticking up in the air. I felt my breathing return to normal as he relaxed into my mattress. I watched as his green orbs slowly became hidden, his eyelids drooping slightly. Ulquiorra was tired as well. The idea seemed somewhat humorous but I was too sleepy to laugh at it. Instead I turned onto my left side, facing him as well. I reached out my hand, lacing the fingers with his and moved my head closer to rest on the edge of my pillow. He did the same, tightening his fingers around mine. I sighed contentedly as I closed my eyes, my body filled with bliss.

"Rest now, Onna. I'll stay right here." He promised silently, his voice ghosting to me in the dark. I did as I was told, unconsciously snuggling closer to him. He made no complaints as he rested his forehead against the top of my head, instead letting his body become lax and comfortable.

"…Goodnight, Ulquiorra…" I whispered dreamily, my mind already drifting off as I rested my face against the crook of his neck. I gripped his jacket lazily, holding him to my body. He wrapped an arm around my waist once more, almost as if he couldn't move. He was almost asleep as well.

"Goodnight Onna… sleep well…" he whispered into my hair, his voice thick with sleep already. I felt my heart swell as he returned my little comment. I was so happy; I never wanted this moment to end. But of course it would, and I knew it. It was the sad truth, and I could not deny it. Despite this, I was full of euphoria. And even though I never would have thought I'd fall asleep holding hands with the very arrancar that had abducted, tortured and finally died in an attempt to keep me from my friends… that was exactly what I did that night. And I had never felt so content.

A/N:

I am not satisfied with this as much as i should be, but it was the best i could come up with, so… Review Please! Hopefully i can make Ulquiorra emotionless enough (i failed in this one.) It;s a dream though, (wink wink) so i could go a little ooc…. i'm blabbering again…

Ulquiorra: "Indeed, now cease and stop corroding these human's minds."

Me: orihime! come get your boyfriend!

Ulquiorra: *hits me over the head* "silence."

Me: ow! Hey, no need to be so rude!

Orihime: Ulquiorra, be nice!

Ulquiorra: "…"

Me: ohhhhh! whipped!

Ulquiorra: *hits me again. HARD.* "I said silence, trash."

Me: oh, did i hit a nerve Ulqui? heh-heh!

Ulquiorra: "…"

Me: o.o' oh, god no please! don"t i'm begging you! w-wait!

review please, and hopefully i'm not dead, so i can continue! Ulquiorra back off already! i said sorry! argh-*dead*