AN: Hi guys! Yes, I am back. As expected things have been crazy and I was so busy I didn't have time to edit this chapter even though it has been written out for a while! But its here and its my holiday gift to you guys! I am travelling soon so there won't be any updates till Januray 2015. But thank you so much for sticking with this story and your reviews. During this busy time, with so many things happening, I cannot emphasise enough how much your reviews helped me. There were several days when I simply did not have the motivation to write/edit this on top of everything else I had. Yet I would see a notification and read a review and it would make me excited about continuing this story again! So Thank You!

This chapter moves things forward and has some IchiHime but is mainly focussed on Byakuya and his perspective. I hope you enjoy and please, R&R!

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo wrote Bleach. I only think up scenarios where these characters can romance each other! :)

Chapter 12: The Dilemma

"It's been a while Ulquiorra. What are you doing back in Japan?"

Orihime stared at Byakuya. He had always given the impression of being quite stuffy when talking to people he didn't know. However right now he had an easy half smile and unguarded expression on his face. He didn't just know Ulquiorra... From what Orihime knew about Byakuya, she was sure that he liked Ulquiorra. She tried valiantly to hide her face somewhere so Ulquiorra wouldn't notice her.

"I am here on a project Kuchiki senpai".

Senpai! Of course! Why hadn't she thought about it before? Ulquiorra and Byakuya had both gone to Keio. However Byakuya was almost 10 years older than Orihime and Ulquiorra... Now that she thought about it, she didn't know exactly how old Ulquiorra was. He had been on fast track meaning he might have gone to college earlier than regular kids. However she was sure he wasn't old enough to have been at Keio at the same time as Byakuya..

" Ah I see." Realizing that Orihime was next to him, Byakuya turned to her.

"Orihime, this is my kouhai from Keio, Ulquiorra Cifer."

Then as if reading the question in her eyes Byakuya elaborated, "Although we didn't overlap at Keio, we were connected through the alumni mentorship programme, but then lost touch."

"Oh.. You are dating him too woman?! I have to say that's an improvement over that ape." Ulquiorra, who hadn't noticed Orihime till Byakuya had pointed her out, spoke more to himself than anyone else.

"I see you both know each other." Orihime cringed. Of course Byakuya had noticed. He was about as perceptive as Ulquiorra. Orihime wondered if she was just surprised because she was used to being around dense idiots like Ichigo and Renji.

"We work together." Ulquiorra said easily, saving Orihime from blurting out something inappropriate, as she usually did in such situations.

"Aaaah, ano... Yea! We..err.. I mean, Ulquiorra and..NO.. Cifer san and I work together! He is the man who was working me really hard!"

Had she just said Ulquiorra was "working" her?! She might as well have said they were doing each other! Her eyes widened as Ulquiorra sweat dropped.

Why did the woman think she could handle herself in these situations?!

"Working you..."

"I am her boss on a project. Inoue san had to work quite a lot for it, unfortunately." Ulquiorra said smoothly, giving Orihime a meaningful look. But Orihime was already quite flustered with her last slip of tongue.

She could feel Ulquiorra's eyes on her but chose to ignore it, completely flustered and blushing prettily.

"Well, that's good if you know each other. Why don't you join us Ulquiorra?" Byakuya said evenly, apparently not having noticed Orihime's distress.

This shocked both Orihime and Ulquiorra. Orihime reasoned that of course Byakuya would want Ulquiorra to join as they hadn't seen each other in a while and it was only polite. Ulquiorra however looked slightly suspicious, but relented anyways.

"So for how long will you be in Tokyo?" Byakuya asked once they had all settled in the café.

"A few weeks at the least. We don't know the project timeline yet. But... I might stay longer." Ulquiorra looked at Orihime's surprised face as he finished. She didn't know he was planning to stay longer. Why did this make her heart lurch in a strange way?

"That's good. You should come by our house sometime."

Now Orihime was flabbergasted. In the many years that she had known Rukia, she had only been to her house once; that was till Rukia moved out to be with Renji. Apparently Byakuya was not much for company and even Renji would sometimes feel uncomfortable encroaching upon his territory and finally Rukia had moved out so they could be with each other whenever they wanted. To invite Ulquiorra to his house indicated a deeper bond than one shared between a senpai and kouhai.

"I would love to. Are you still in Azabu-Jūban?"

"Yes."

Orihime wondered why it had gone silent suddenly only to realize that Byakuya and Ulquiorra were mulling over the menu, completely comfortable with the silence. As the evening progressed she discovered that this was actually a norm between the two men. As they both only spoke when required and didn't care about useless formalities, once the men had questioned each other on their lives and brought themselves up to date, they only spoke when one had a question for another.

Not used to long silences, Orihime had felt compelled to jump in a few times, trying to find topics to chat up with Byakuya and Ulquiorra. This had somehow lead her to start bickering with Ulquiorra about whether Tokyo was better than New York (Byakuya remained neutral and added that he liked Prague best) after which they had somehow managed to jump to the topic of Kurosaki Ichigo being a dense ape (Byakuya had vehemently agreed on this one and Orihime had to finally give up in the face of two extremely overbearing and eloquent men who had started to painstakingly explain to her how Ichigo's habits matched that of a Neanderthal (this was mostly Byakuya).

Finally when they said their goodbyes and Orihime got back home to a gift and a message from Ichigo.

"Inoue, this may be very forward of me, and please know that I am willing to wait for you as long as it takes. But I wanted to take you out, on a date. I'll pick you up tomorrow at 7 pm. If that's OK, please text YES. If you do not want to come, just text NO. (I hope you don't though.. Please don't say no XoX) Love, Ichigo."

Orihime smiled as she texted a 'yes' without even thinking about it. As she drifted into a quiet slumber that night, she realized that in the shock of meeting Ulquiorra, she had never had the chance to reject Byakuya.

Orihime checked herself in the mirror for the hundredth time. She could feel a sense of anxiety clawing at her. It was happening. Her childhood dream, the one thing she had constantly envisioned since the age of 12, was finally going to happen. And she was wracked with anxiety.

How would her and ichigo's date be? Would they have enough to talk about? Where would he take her? What if he changed his mind after seeing her in this state? What if they kissed at the end of the night?

Hush, Orihime! It's going to be fine! Stop acting like a kid. You are a grown woman! She reprimanded herself.

Yet this was different. This was Ichigo, the man she had loved for so long that he had become the very definition of love for Orihime. Of course she was nervous. She was practically shivering with anxiety and excitement. Yet a part of her also felt turmoil. Turmoil at the fact that she was choosing to not react to what she felt about callings things off with Ulquiorra, or likely rejecting Byakuya's proposal.

Why was it that Ichigo always sent all thoughts flying from her mind, including any sense of self preservation? Truthfully, Orihime didn't know. She had never been vey close to Ichigo, and even when they had interacted one on one he wasn't as focussed on her as he was now. There had been an implicit understanding between them, which made them respect each others boundaries.

However those boundaries had been broken by Ichigo. Slowly, but surely. So that at once Orihime felt excited and at a loss. What was she supposed to do? How should she react? She had always told herself that Ichigo WAS love. She knew what to do when aspiring for love and chasing it for the ideal that it was.

How was she supposed to act now that her chase had ended?

The doorbell interrupted Orihime's thoughts and she realized that she was already late.

"Coming!" She ran to the door, opening it to see Ichigo dressed in a casual blazer with fitted pants and dress shoes. He looked like a prince. Orihime instantly turned red but noticed that Ichigo too looked extremely nervous.

"Err, Inoue... Umm, I got some wine! And I made us reservations at the Italian place you and Rukia go to a lot. You like Italian right?!"

Orihime eased up a little. Here she was musing only about her feelings, not realizing that it must have been equally awkward for Ichigo too. Just like Ichigo had always been an ideal in Orihime's mind, Orihime too had been just a friend for him. They were both new to this and they would both figure it out.

"It's ok Kurosaki kun! I love Italian food!"

"It's Ichigo, Inoue."

"Well then it's Orihime for you... Ii..errr.. Ichi.. Ichigo!"

Ichigo smiled at Orihime's nervousness. She really was very cute. How had he missed this when it was right in front of him?

"Ok we should leave then.. Orihime."

Orihime's heart thudded a million times per second as she followed Ichigo out into his car. It was strange really. They had been friends for so long. Yet just the act of him uttering her name was enough to send shivers along her spine.

"Oh! Btw Renji was bothering me to hang out for drinks. I think Rukia will message you soon. I told them since I'll be out anyways I'll pick you up."

Orihime froze. Did that mean they were not telling friends? She was ok with that. No she actually preferred that. She was worried about what Rukia or Ishida might think of them dating, when she had been seeing Byakuya not too long ago. Also Rukia's words were still rankling in Orihime's head. And with an already paper thin conviction, she didn't want to see Rukia disapprove of them on the off chance that she might.

"But we are dressed like this Kurosaki kun.."

"It's Ichigo. And I think it should be all right Orihime. We are going to a club after anyways."

"Unn.. Ok."

Ichigo looked at the radiant woman in front of him, wondering again for the millionth time why he had held himself back from her. Now that they had sorted the initial awkwardness of going out on a date and deciding not to tell their friends, they had settled into a fun and easy banter.

Ichigo was genuinely surprised at how attentive Orihime was towards him. They had skirted away from the topic of her prior feelings for him, just chatting about work and older memories, their common friends, Tatsuki's temper. Ichigo noticed that Orihime stayed away from discussing her recent trip New York, which he found odd. But that aside despite the earlier nervousness he had felt, he found himself easing into the conversations with her.

Every once in a while, his eyes would travel down the nape of her neck or her lower lip, making him wonder why he had suddenly become so aware of his friend.

"So when do you plan to go to the U.S.. Ichigo?"

"Ummmhmmm.. The application deadlines are in 2 months but if all goes well, in the next 11 months."

Orihime seemed to consider this for a while.

"Where would you go?"

"Ah I can't say Orihime. Usually residencies are very competitive. I would go there in a few months for interviews and probably see how it works from there. Also if I don't get in this time, I contacted a few doctors to do medical research with, in which case I'll leave for the US in as soon as 6 months."

"Oh..."

Ichigo cursed himself inwardly. He wished Orihime hadn't broached such a heavy topic so soon.

"Well then, we have at least 6 months! So I should cherish every day with you." Orihime smiled sweetly. Instantly Ichigo felt his chest tighten.

It was one thing, thinking that things would be fine even if there was a small chance that they might become long distance or not last till he left; it was entirely another to actually see Orihime face to face and entertain the possibility that she might not be in his life in 6 months. Ichigo instantly felt his throat clench.

"Ahhh, ss..sorry Kurosaki kun! I sound like some crazy stalker... I didn't realize..."

"Don't be sorry for anything except calling me Kurosaki kun, Orihime. You are right. There is a good chance that I won't get into the programs of my choice and have to go to the US much earlier. We need to make the best of this time we have!"

Seeing Orihime ease up at this Ichigo smiled and they chatted away to their hearts content.

Byakuya looked outside into his garden. Typically Tokyo was so dense that it was impossible to find a corner that was quiet and peaceful. But the Kuchiki manor was in a posh neighbourhood that was relatively quiet. When Byakuya had lived here with Hisana, they had demolished a larger part of the manor to resemble a tiered garden, leaving only essential rooms in the manor. And although they had decorated the rooms modestly and tastefully, the gardens were truly a sight to behold. Lined on lower tiers with different trees including an area just for sakura, the gardens rose to give way to flower beds. Hisana had insisted on a vegetable garden and Byakuya had told the gardener to intersperse the tiers with various fruit trees so that whenever they wished, they could reach out and grab a fruit.

Due to Hisana's love for flowers, the flower beds were both elaborate and diverse, enclosed in a glass greenhouse.

Byakuya had always found it a pity that Hisana had never been able to enjoy this garden for a very long time. Due to her passion for saving lives, she would choose to go on long assignments in developing countries, sometimes only returning once in six months. Connectivity in these places was minimal and there were times when they had resorted to sending each other snail mail. It was good that Byakuya had never been one for touchy feely romances.

Or so he had told himself in those five beautiful yet painful years with Hisana. They had lived a sort of fairy tale romance, falling in love in a strange place, eloping against his family's wishes and then traveling to different parts of the world, meeting each other in some other strange place in the middle. While this made for one big adventure, a part of Byakuya longed for stability and for a Hisana that he could wake up with and have breakfast with at home instead of one he met to bungee jump with in South Africa or mountain climb with in the Alps.

Yet Byakuya would never let his base needs hinder the dreams of a woman as selfless and committed to saving other people as Hisana. He had been convinced that despite those phases of abject loneliness and longing that had gripped him often, what he had with Hisana was worth it. For it was better to have a life partner that you loved, no matter how meagre your moments together; than to spend a lifetime caught with someone, repeating the daily motions of stable married life.

Yet that love had been stripped away from him before he had even begun to devour it. On one of her trips to Africa as a doctor in charge of overseeing a rescue operation following an epidemic, Hisana had left just when they had been discussing having children. Byakuya had been patient. Hisana had wanted kids, and kids would bring that sense of grounding he had been craving, for both him and her.

But she never returned. She had insisted on traveling to treat patients on outskirts of the affected village, against the better judgement of her peers; contracted the virus and succumbed to it. One day he had received her e-mail discussing her plans to return and them having kids and less than a week later MSF had informed him that Hisana had left him forever.

As if magically, all those cravings for stability and normalcy left Byakuya as though they never existed in the first place. He had thrown away the idea of a comfortable and happy life with a loving wife, immersed himself in his work and eventually submitted himself to the idea of playing the dutiful first son of a noble family and creating heirs with a nameless faceless woman of his family's choice.

That was, before he had met Orihime Inoue. Somehow Orihime had ignited those desires he had never allowed himself with Hisana. Orihime was nothing like Hisana, and the feelings she brought out in him were nothing like the ones Hisana had brought out.

Yet, could one really compare love for two different people? What he shared with Hisana was sacred and unconnected with what he felt towards Orihime. Byakuya had closed the door to his base needs. Needs of having a routine with a life partner, sharing the same space, enjoying simple things like the flowers blooming in his garden and cooking a meal together and making love knowing that this wasn't a treat granted once in a few months but that this person would be there every night, sharing the same bed. The physical intimacy that went beyond sexual inter course, yet was somehow even more intimate. He had craved these things as much as he had craved meeting someone who both calmed and challenged him before he had met Hisana.

Yet it was Orihime who had brought out those needs again, making him realize that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to move on, to find happiness, not in the shape of another Hisana but in the form of a completely different person. That it wouldn't be so bad to hold that air headed, emotional and uncertain of herself auburn haired girl, to spoon her at night, to touch and devour her alabaster skin with leisure and not the urgency that only comes with being with someone as driven and lost as you are.

Byakuya looked at the moonlight filtering gently through the leaves and washing the ground at the base of his garden, mulling over the events of the previous night.

He remembered feeling very happy to see Orihime after a long time. Then he felt happier bumping into his long-time mentee, Ulquiorra. Yet as the night progressed, a nameless dread had crawled up his throat making him feel strangely calm yet panicky. He had seen how Orihime looked at Ulquiorra. And he would never have missed how Ulquiorra looked at Orihime.

Byakuya had met Ulquiorra through the Keio alumni mentor programme. He had been sceptical but hisana had insisted that he give back to the community. Instantly upon meeting him, Byakuya had liked Ulquiorra, seeing him more as a kindred spirit. He had enjoyed the fact that he did not need to maintain a steady stream of babble for Ulquiorra, and he appreciated that Ulquiorra only spoke when necessary and spoke sensibly. Over the years they had kept in touch on and off, and Byakuya had even helped Ulquiorra with his connections in Aizen Corp.

Although not close according to the normal social norms, Byakuya and Ulquiorra could read each other quite well. This was why they had been one of the few mentor mentees in the alumni programmed who had still kept in touch.

And it was why he knew that Ulquiorra was madly in love with Orihime, but completely unaware of it (and knowing him, most likely actively denying it).

Byakuya felt his heart clench. Not since he had met Hisana had he desired a woman as much as he desired Orihime Inoue. Yet, if his instincts about Ulquiorra and Renji's babble about how her childhood crush had been stalking her were right; he was now faced with two very intimidating opponents vying for her affections.

Byakuya sighed. He didn't like Ichigo but Ulquiorra was another story altogether. It seemed like letting things go with the flow would soon not be enough.

Byakuya sighed again. He really did not like dilemmas.