Warnings for this chapter: yaoi (boyxboy), a steamy scene that could be debatable as smut, language, mild violence, and a little OOC on Orihime's and Rangiku's part (but honestly, I needed Rangiku to be a self-centered bitch and Orihime to be irritable and feisty in this chapter; it made it flow better.)
Chapter Two
"I'm gonna win."
"Psssh, yeah right; no offense, but you really suck at this game, Keigo." Keigo's mouth fell open, his eyes widening in surprised hurt, and the controller slipped out of his hands and landed on the floor with a soft thud, giving Ichigo the opening that he hadn't really needed to beat his friend once again by blowing his head off. As a result, Keigo began to sputter incoherently through a sea of tears.
Orihime giggled joyfully from the couch where she was lounging with her head in Rangiku's lap and her feet in Tatsuki's. She always loved it when her friends came for an impromptu visit, and today was no different. Muzuiro always brought food and his Xbox; Shinji always brought music; Rangiku brought whatever she could use to torment the boys (besides her overlarge chest), and Ichigo and Keigo brought movies (although no one ever cared to watch Keigo's, much to the brunette's sadness and irritation). Everyone else just showed up, and their friends were just fine with that; if everyone brought something, they'd have more stuff than they knew what to do with.
Nnoitora, who had been trying to coax a loudly protesting Shinji into his lap, finally glanced up at the overemotional teen in annoyance. "Yo, will ya shut the fuck up and quit blubberin' like a damn baby?" However, his words only made Keigo wail louder, and Shinji swatted at him, telling him he was being an asshole. "Tch."
Ichigo, also fed up with his boisterous friend, growled and kicked Keigo in the face, knocking him out and effectively shutting him up. A collective, relieved sigh ran around the room.
But Orihime sat up so fast that her head spun. "Oh, Ichigo…you didn't have to kick him that hard, did you?" She rushed over to find his nose bleeding, and a nasty bruise starting to take form just below his right eye. However, other than that, he looked rather peaceful. She bustled into the bathroom and through the kitchen, coming back with a warm, moist towel and a homemade icepack. She dabbed gently at the blood before pinching the nostrils to stop the flow. She then pressed icepack to his cheek to slow the swelling.
Grimmjow raised an eyebrow, tugging Ichigo back against his chest (Ichigo made himself comfortable and closed his eyes in contentment). "You know, for someone that can't remember her parents, you sure do act a lot like a mom."
Orihime smiled warmly. "I haven't forgotten them completely; I can still remember what they looked like…." She let the sentence trail off, her hands slackening.
Everyone stared at her, wondering what was going to happen next. Orihime hardly ever talked about her family, and if she ever did, it was only when someone asked her directly about it; she was never the one to broach the subject.
Suddenly, Tatsuki jumped up, tossing the DVDs she had been looking at down on the couch behind her. "Honestly," she started in a playfully annoyed tone, "Ichigo, do you or Keigo not own any movies besides these? I swear you guys bring the exact same ones every time." She smiled, and everyone realized that she was trying to lighten the mood. It worked—effectively.
Keigo sat up with such quickness that it made Orihime scream, her hand flying to her chest where her heart was beating a mile a minute. His nose started to bleed again, but he either didn't notice, or didn't care enough to acknowledge it. "Well then maybe you should bring the movies from now on, Tatsuki!"
Tatsuki leaned toward him, placing her hands firmly on her hips. "Well then maybe I will!"
"Fine!"
Everyone else fell into their usual almost-friendly banter, and Orihime relaxed, laughing every now and then at some of the arguments.
"'Himeeee," Rangiku whined from the kitchen almost an hour later.
Orihime glanced up. "Hmm?"
Rangiku nearly stomped out into the living room, an adorable pout on her face. "You're out of popcorn again."
"Maybe that's because people like you are always eating it," Grimmjow said with a grin.
"Oh shut up. You eat more than I do. I'm surprised you're not the size of a hippo."
Grimmjow glared at her for a short moment before his attention was recaptured by an irritated Ichigo.
Satisfied that she'd "won" the glaring contest, Rangiku turned back to Orihime, her hands on her hips. "Well," she demanded, "why are you just sitting there?" Orihime raised her eyebrows in confusion, and Rangiku rolled her eyes. "We have to go get more popcorn if we're going to watch movies!" She vigorously tugged her cousin up from the couch by her arms, scolding her when she resisted and began to whine.
Orihime knew that when she went anywhere with her flirty, curvaceous cousin that it meant they'd probably be followed home by no less that ten boys that no one either wanted or had room to accommodate. It would most likely end up with Shinji, Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Nnoitora getting into a fight with the strangers, and Orihime wasn't in the mood to have to clean up blood stains.
Seeing her friend's apprehension, Tatsuki patted her on the back. "Don't worry, 'Hime," she said, trying to hold back a snicker. "I'll go with you and help keep Flirty McBigBoobs in check."
Hearing the not-so-appreciated nickname, Rangiku glared at the spiky haired girl and stuck out her tongue childishly. She did not, however, make anymore to physically reprimand her; it wasn't in anyone's best interest to get into a fist fight with Japan's best female fighter.
Szayel stood by the door, staring at Ulquiorra, who had thrown himself on his bed and pulled his pillow over his head, with rapt curiosity. He had absolutely no idea what was wrong with the pale boy, and he was more than a little curious. He wanted to know why Ulquiorra had lied to his father about his mother, why he was so upset that his father saw right through him. The burning desire to know was gnawing at him, chewing a whole through his cheek…or maybe that was just his teeth. Either way, he was going to find out.
He sat on the edge of the bed, trying to pull the pillow away. When that failed, he sighed and dramatically crossed his arms—not that the intended audience would see it. "Ulqui, what's wrong?" he asked. "You know I don't like being in the dark."
Finally, Ulquiorra pulled back to glare at him. "I though I told you not to be within three feet of me?" he said coolly.
Szayel pouted playfully. "You're so mean! Is this the kind of thanks I get for trying to help?" Ulquiorra just stared, and Szayel shook him. "Ulquiiii," he whined, "pleeeasee?"
Ulquiorra only shoved him off the bed and began looking around his room for his biology book, cursing when he didn't find it. He glanced fleetingly at the frowning pink-haired teen on his floor. "Help me find my textbook," he demanded.
Szayel smirked. "Tell me what's going on, and I will," he bargained.
The pale boy paused, regarding the other with cold calculation. "Fine," he finally conceded, "but only if you find it." He sat back down on his bed, watching as the creepy nuisance scoured his room.
Szayel looked over his shoulder at the cocky dark-haired beauty and grinned at the challenge. Ulquiorra obviously believed that he wouldn't find it; he was sadly underestimating him—after all, he'd already gotten around the "leaving the door open" rule.
For a short moment, Ulquiorra continued to watch him search for the textbook he knew wasn't there—he knew because his backpack was nowhere to be seen—but he was quickly bored and instead fell back on the mattress, wondering where on earth his backpack could be.
"Isn't she getting heavy?"
Orihime frowned and blushed crimson at the implications of that question. "Are you trying to call me fat?" she asked indignantly.
Rangiku glanced at her cousin, who was perched on the back of a hardly winded Tatsuki. She'd been there the entire way to the store. "Of course not," she defended, looking away to scan the aisle signs. "I'm just saying that your huge boobs alone would be enough to break someone's back, but she's carrying the whole thing." She gestured to Orihime's body with a casual wave of her hand.
"Oh!" Orihime huffed, her face reddening even farther. She looked away, obviously upset and rather offended.
Rangiku stopped walking and turned to her, placing her hand on a cocked hip. "Why are you getting so upset?" she demanded.
Tatsuki sighed, wishing she'd never gotten herself into this mess. However, in her defense, the two usually got along just fine. But for some reason, the two seemed especially irritated with each other.
"I'm upset because you're calling me heavy!" Orihime snapped. "How would you feel if I called you heavy?"
Rangiku froze, half-bent to grab a two liter bottle of Coke, and glared at her equally irritated cousin. "Are you calling me fat, 'Hime?"
"See?" Orihime pointed out. "Hurtful, isn't it?"
Rangiku sighed and relaxed, tossing the soda into the shopping cart and went to get the popcorn, Tatsuki following quietly behind her. "Point taken."
As they finally made their way to the register, a black mesh backpack behind the counter caught Orihime's attention. She squinted, trying to decipher the name scrawled on the strap. When she did, she jumped down from her friend's back and pushed her way up to the cashier, apologizing to the annoyed titters behind her.
"Excuse me," she said to the clerk, a petite girl with sea foam green hair, large hazel eyes, and boobs that rivaled hers and Rangiku's. Her name tag read, Hello, my name is Nel.
Nel glanced up and smiled gently, not at all irritated that she'd broken in line. "Yes?"
"Um, I know the owner of that backpack," Orihime said quietly, pointing over Nel's shoulder. "We had a lot of homework today, and it will really bother him if he can't get it done."
Nel glanced at the bag in question before reaching for it and handing it to Orihime. "That's so sweet of you," she said kindly.
Orihime thanked the clerk and went back to wait in line with the confused Rangiku and Tatsuki.
"What was that about?" both girls demanded at the same time.
Tatsuki glanced down at the bag in Orihime's hand. "Whose is that?" she asked, pointing at it.
Orihime smiled a bit, trying to hide her blush with her hair. "Ulquiorra."
Rangiku's eyes narrowed. She knew Orihime would never go after someone on her radar, but it still pissed her off to see her cousin—and best friend—blushing while holding the backpack of the boy she liked. She held out her hand. "Let me see it," she commanded.
Orihime made to hand it over, but Tatsuki held out an arm to stop her, glaring at the pushy redhead. "I don't think she should," she snapped. "What are you so upset about? Even if Hime does like him, you know she won't go after him because of you!"
Orihime, who was blushing more than now than ever, tugged on Tatsuki's sleeve. "Please stop, Tatsuki," she asked quietly. "You're making a scene."
It was true; almost everyone within a ten foot radius was staring at them, some with mild interest and others with disgusted annoyance. Tatsuki took a glance around the room, blushed, and then began pulling Orihime toward the door with Orihime staring at her with a confused expression.
"Where are you two going?" Rangiku demanded, not at all bothered by the odd stares; she was used to being stared at by both men and women—look at her, she was drop-dead gorgeous.
Tatsuki didn't even spared her a parting glance as she called over her shoulder, "You pay for the stuff and take it back to Orihime's; we're going to take Ulquiorra his backpack."
The one thing about living in a city as small as Karakura Town was that if someone was known by a lot of people, a lot of people knew where that someone lived. Ulquiorra was that someone.
Szayel sat back on his heels and pouted. "Ulqui, I think you've sent me on a wild goose chase."
Ulquiorra, who had been lying back on his bed, sat up with a raised brow. "Oh, you've finally figured that out, have you?"
Szayel's eyes narrowed as he stood and sat on the bed next to Ulquiorra; the pale teen fought the urge to shift away from the closeness. Noticing this, Szayel grinned and leaned forward, his hands resting on either side of the other's hips. "That wasn't very nice," he purred in his ear.
Ulquiorra turned and green eyes locked with golden ones as they stared each other down. "Whatever you're thinking," Ulquiorra said, his tone flat, "it's not going to work."
"Hmm?" Szayel hummed, his hand shifting closer to Ulquiorra's leg.
Vivid green eyes flashed down to catch the movement, lingering before reverting to their previous target.
They stayed like that for a moment, silent, eyes locked, and Ulquiorra saw the thought form in the golden depths, but before he could stop it, lips were smashed against his and a body was shoving him back onto the bed.
He broke away angrily, gasping for air. "What the hell?" he demanded.
But instead of getting an answer, hands slid up his shirt, caressing the hard abdominal muscles before wandering up to his chest to fondle his nipples.
Ulquiorra's breath hitched, and he grabbed the intruding appendages through his shirt, trying to push them away. Szayel grinned insanely and ground their hips together, earning another strangled gasp. He leaned up and ran his tongue along the shell of a pale ear and then blew on the damp skin; Ulquiorra shivered and bit his lip, stifling a mewl. He wanted to make it stop, to tell Szayel to cut it out and never come through his door again, but he didn't trust his voice; he feared that if he opened his mouth, every sound except the ones he wanted would escape.
"Don't be so stiff," Szayel whispered. "If you do, it won't feel nearly as good."
Suddenly, Ulquiorra's saving grace came; the doorbell rang. Saved by the bell—how cliché. He immediately shoved the unwanted presence away and dashed for the door, wiping sweat from his face as he went. He didn't want to admit it but…that had actually felt…somewhat nice, not that he was gay in any sense of the word.
The doorbell rang again as he was coming down the stairs, and he wondered disdainfully where his parents were. He pulled open the door, and to say that he was surprised would have been an understatement.
Before him stood that big chested girl from lunch—had she even told him her name? He couldn't remember—and her spiky-haired friend that he knew to be named Tatsuki from his math class.
He straightened his face back into his expressionless mask. "What?"
The redhead shifted her weight nervously, looking up at him through her fringe of black lashes. "Um…you left this…at the grocery store," she said quietly, holding up his missing backpack.
His eyes lingered on her for a moment before he reached out to take it from her. But before his hand could make contact, he felt cool fingers messing with the tail of his shirt and cool breath tickled his ear, raising the hairs on the back of his neck.
He slapped the hand away and stared at Szayel, who grinned back, unfazed by the subtle hostility radiating from the other man. Szayel wrapped both his arms around the pale boy's thin waist, resting his chin on his shoulders.
"I think you should introduce me to your friends, Ulqui," he sang in a sugary-sweet voice.
"No." Ulquiorra snapped. Not only because he didn't want anyone that went to his school anywhere near the madman, but because they weren't really his friends; after all, he didn't have friends.
Szayel pouted. "Aw, why not? I promise I won't bite…them." He smirked suggestively, and Ulquiorra pushed him away, annoyed.
He held his hand out for his backpack, and the big chested girl gave it to him wordlessly, still staring at Szayel with wide eyes, as was her friend. Without so much as a thank you, he slammed the door in their face and turned to glare at Szayel. "Out," he commanded. He didn't know why he had closed the door in the first place.
"You're so mean!" Szayel whined playfully. However, he knew he was pushing his luck by staying and did what he was told, but not without skimming his hand over the other's backside, to which Ulquiorra simply turned and stared, not at all surprised.
Once outside, Szayel watched the two girls walk down the street, the redhead glancing back over her shoulder and blushing when she realized she had been caught and turning back around quickly. His eyes narrowed. He had a feeling that girl was going to cause trouble for him. He would not have anyone else laying a hand on what was his, and Ulquiorra was his, whether he knew it or not.
A/N: Woo! Chapter two: finished. Sorry it took so long, but I needed time to make sure that I didn't rush this chapter...and I think I still did that anyway *sigh*. But I really hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. :)
Reviews are greatly appriciated.