DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach in any way. Oh Kubo-sensei... OMG RUKIA! OH mY FREAKING GOD IT'S RUKIA, SHE'S BACK!

Oh lol, please do not fret. I will put IchiRukiness in chapter 20 but please bear with my current urge to write an Ulquihime side story for this fic of mine. I want a bit more limelight on this couple.

Orihime Inoue woke up on her couch. She had first wondered why she was on it to begin with but then remembered eventually. She didn't want to move the person who had been sleeping on her lap so she just stayed there feeling rather peaceful.

Last night, Ulquiorra absolutely refused to be torn away from the piano claiming that if she dared to separate him from it, he would never speak to her again. Though that wasn't much of a threat to her, her only worry was that he'd go crazy and maniacal. Orihime then declared that if he didn't separate from the piano, she'd throw him out permanently. He finally agreed out of fear for the worst case scenario but still insisted on staying in the same room as the piano.

Orihime then declared that she would sleep there as well just in case he'd try anything with the piano. Indeed, he could be rather childish sometimes but that was all a part of his charm. Since he lacked common sense, one could say that he was very much like a child.

She sighed as she rested her head on her palm. Her gaze was on his sleeping form as she began to play with his midnight black hair. Contrary to popular belief, his skin wasn't as cold as ice. Despite his paleness, his skin was rather warm and comforting. The only good thing about him was his talent as well his emerald eyes. Her eyes softened as she continued to watch him sleep. It was only recently that her chest began to feel rather light. It was as of everything she had hid and buried deep inside of her had been dug out and thrown away. She felt free of every thing she felt guilty of.

Every wrong thing she had done was thrown out the window by a few words of forgiveness. Rukia Kuchiki really was special. Being able to forgive someone like her so easily, how was that possible. And she wasn't lying either. Rukia even forgot about the entire incident when she paid her cafe a visit. How nice to be able to not hold grudges.

Maybe if she never held grudges, what would become of her now? Would she be happier? Would she have been able to experience Ichigo Kurosaki's kindness just like Rukia Kuchiki? Perhaps she would've found Ulquiorra Schiffer earlier.

Maybe she would've been able to keep Tatsuki close to her.

Orihime leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. God she was an idiot. It didn't matter anymore, all that mattered was the present and what she intended to do with it. She noticed the figure on her lap stir awake. She ceased her hands movements and pretended she had done nothing to his hair nor had she touched is face.

Eventually, a pair of striking emerald eyes had been staring at her.

She smiled. "Good morning." she greeted brightly.

"Who are you and what have you don't Orihime Inoue? The woman I know is too haughty and too evil to greet me good morning with genuine sincere smile with no hidden or malicious intentions." he replied flatly. His face didn't even move as he spoke.

Orihime laughed at him. "Oh, so you prefer that I scheme to torture you rather than to greet you a proper good morning. You must be sick in the head." she replied.

He sighed in relief. "Oh good, it's still you." he said as he closed his eyes again.

Orihime frowned at him. "And you're back to your sarcastic self." she commented back.

He breathed in deep. "I am sure you are very happy woman..." he replied.

"It's a relief." she shot back.

He smirked only slightly as he got up from her lap. He turned his head around to stretch all the kinks off his neck and began to stretch his arms as well. "Sleeping on your lap was not as neck breaking as I thought." he said.

Orihime just smiled sadistically. "Isn't that another relief Ulquiorra." she said in a sweet malicious way.

She could've sworn she saw him shiver slightly. "Yes, well I have just completed my piece yesterday. Would you care to listen?" he asked as he flexed his hands and his fingers.

"Of course I would." she replied as she crossed her legs.

Ulquiorra sat on the piano bench and placed his messy sheet notes on the stand. His hands slid against the surface of the well maintained piano keys. After a moment of silence, he pressed one key. Then music filled the room. It had a sad start but it became happy. It was light hearted tune that would touch whomever heard it. Orihime found herself lost inside his music. She could feel what he felt. She could feel his joy as well as his hurt. She could feel how he really did care for her as an important person to him.

The piece ended in a happy note. It almost made her tear up had she managed enough self restraint no to. She knew very well enough how much he disliked to see her cry.

"What's it called?" she asked.

"Musique Pour La Tristesse de Vega." he replied in a French way.

Orihime thought for a moment. "Music for the sadness of Vega?" she asked after translating the sentence.

He nodded from where he sat. "Music for the sadness of Orihime." he said as he stood up from the bench. Indeed, the meaning of her name was indeed Vega, the star.

"It would be great if your name was Hikoboshi..." she said with a warm smile.

He pondered about her sentence for a moment. "Altair? To match Vega." he stated.

"Yes, but then Altair wouldn't suit you very well would it Ulquiorra?" she replied.

"Indeed, it would not. Perhaps it is better suited for your child if you ever wish to have one." he replied. "I believe it is only appropriate to name your son Hikoboshi." he said as he placed his hands in his pockets.

"And if it's a girl?"

"Well I will leave that to your imagination." Ulquiorra replied swiftly.

She let out a short laugh. The only image of a son she could imagine was one with his pale complexion and eyes but with her auburn hair. Yes, he would be a ginger but a cute ginger he would be. Or he could inherit all the genes from the patriarchal side.

Today just felt so pleasant. A coy smile formed on her lips and Ulquiorra felt anxious all of a sudden. "Hey Ulquiorra, in all honesty. What do you think of me. Don't even try to lie because I'll know." she asked.

He was taken aback by this question but nonetheless, he tried to answer. "Well, you are the first woman to take ever me seriously. Personality-wise, you are always honest towards me and you are rather true to your feelings. I feel rather comfortable around you to the point that I do not wish to leave this apartment at all." he said with closed eyes before opening them again. "Honest enough?"

"Yes, you're straightforward as always." she said as she cornered Ulquiorra. There was no escape seeing as though he was already sitting on the couch while she was standing on front of him. She went even closer to him. "But you're not telling me the whole truth."

He gulped. "You think I am withholding something from you?" he asked.

She had a huge grin plastered on her face as she was only mere centimeters away from his face. Her head was angled to the side as of to kiss him. "Hey Ulquiorra, in your own opinion, do you think I'm pretty?" she asked oh so innocently.

Ulquiorra couldn't concentrate very well when she was kneeling right in front of him. He breathed in deep. "Well yes, you are rather attractive." he stated. More like blurted out actually.

She grinned. "Is that true."

He nodded in a very forced way. Was she making him that uncomfortable? Intriguing...

"Say Ulquiorra..." she said as she went even closer to his face to make him as uncomfortable as possible. She could feel his pulse racing a little faster. "Care to go out on a date with me today." she asked.

He closed his eyes so that he wouldn't get flustered. "Date?"

"Exactly, it's Christmas you know. Consider this as a present from me." she said in a suggestive tone as she moved even closer to him. "Don't be so uptight." she said.

Ulquiorra opened his eyes to find her heavy gaze. He was rather shocked to find her so close from before he closed his eyes. When he though she was going to kiss him, he was wrong. She only kissed his cheek. Though he was somewhat irritated because this woman had been teasing him the entire time. Still, her lips were rather soft.

She smirked evilly. "You thought I was gonna kiss you didn't you?" she asked as she quickly withdrew herself.

Ulquiorra sighed. "Sadly..."

She giggled as if to mock him. "I deserve an answer Ulquiorra." she taunted.

He sighed again. This woman was infuriating. "If you insist. I am afraid that if I refuse, you would do something to injure both my pride and dignity." he replied.

She smiled. "That's good to hear then." she said swiftly before going back to her room. "I'm going to take a shower now."

"Okay..." he replied in a mumbled as he leaned on the couch.

The things I do for her, he thought.

Ulquiorra was officially stuck in his room. Orihime had her own bathroom in her room, in other words, her room was constantly a restricted section in the apartment. While he was playing the piano, he heard her scream. Running by his natural manly instinct to rescue a certain damsel in distress. He barged in her room only to find Orihime Inoue holding a towel to cover herself. Turns out, she was shocked because a cockroach was flying about in her shower.

She blushed at the sight of him and threw a pillow at him while calling him a pervert. He ran outside out of fear for her feminine rampage and hormones. He had stayed in his room, hiding for around thirty minutes.

He sighed as he simply lied on his bed. He could never understand women in general. They say one thing and mean another. They're picky and prone to mood swings. Their hormones literally and figuratively kill you. Though their smile is totally worth it. That was the only perk of women in his opinion. One smile from them could brighten any man's day.

Ulquiorra got up and and attempted to open the door to see if she was still making a mess of the lovely cushions on the couch. From the looks of the living room, her rampage was over. Ulquiorra let out a breath of relief as he walke back to the piano. He sat on the bench and began to play a light playful tune to brighten his mood. Minutes later, she reappeared on the couch with an angry expression on her face. Though that expression had faded with his music which was a good thing.

Once he ended his song, she spoke.

"You didn't take a bath yet?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I was afraid that you would rip my head off." he replied.

She smiled at the retort. "Did I manage to get the great Ulquiorra Schiffer to hide in his room?" she asked as her full attention was on him.

"Why as a matter of fact, you did. Though I have no comment about the 'great' part. As far as I am concerned, I am nowhere near great." he replied as he pulled down the cover over the piano keys.

He stood up and went to his room.

"Please don't wear black and white." Orihime prayed as she crossed her legs.

Ulquiorra walked with Orihime on the snowy pavement. Wherever he looked, everything had Christmas plastered all over it. There were last minute sales and bargains for the day, everything was so festive. Orihime didn't even bother with a disguise. It official, they were heading for the tabloids.

Ulquiorra sighed fitfully as a puff of air came with his breath. He glanced at the woman next to him to find her glowing more than usual. She was humming a tune as she walked with him. He closed his eyes momentarily to revel in the pleasantness of it all. It was so rare that she'd actually give him a break from all the drama like this. If her average feminist rage was bad, imagine it on a daily basis. That's what he had to deal with.

Orihime clung to his arm in attempts of closing the distance as well as sharing the warmth. They both had one destination in mind and it wasn't too far from where they stayed. She also took it upon herself to notify Ichigo that his apartment had been recently repaired. As they walked, a lot of people noticed them while the paparazzi had yet to come.

Ulquiorra truly wished that Orihime wasn't so famous but then if she wasn't famous then that wouldn't be Orihime Inoue at all. She may have been some sweet bubbly and innocent high school student once but this haughty sarcastic yet kind Orihime Inoue was the one he knew best.

Still, she felt rather warm. Sticking so close to her that is...

Orihime was the one leading him because he had no idea where the cafe was at all. All he knew was that it was pretty near, a walkable distance as it were. They finally found a quaint cafe with a classy coffee feel to it along the way. Orihime smiled at him as she pushed the tasteful door open. As soon as they stepped in, the room wasn't crowded at all. Rukia Kuchiki was behind the counter working the drinks while Kiyone Kotetsu manned the counter.

Ichigo Kurosaki had been at his usual table talking to Renji Abarai who had his laptop with him. Tatsuki Arisawa had been practically chewing her boyfriend's ear off for forgetting to pass a quarter of his draft and for forgetting to get his tux fixed for the awards show later this evening.

Kaien Shiba was on the table with Momo Hinamori who had managed to get the thumbs up for getting her believed boyfriend Toshiro Hitsugaya discharged from the hospital. Aside from his stiff shoulder from the bullet wounds, he was perfectly fine.

Orihime froze at the sight of Tatsuki but regained her composure. Ulquiorra was here after all.

They approached the counter together.

"Oh, hey Orihime... I see you've dragged Ulquiorra along." Rukia greeted with a smile. She was in an extra good mood today since she was able to wear her bartender uniform again. Her boyfriend rejoiced at the sight of her ass pressing against the tight cloth of her pants. Customers wouldn't normally see her lower region because of the counter but from where Ichigo was sitting, he had a perfect view of his girlfriend's ass. It was just unfortunate that said girlfriend wasn't aware. Or was she?

"It's Christmas and all so he had no choice." Orihime replied.

Rukia chuckled. "Well good job then. You're learning how to use your feminism to your advantage." she replied jokingly. "So what are you having today?"

"I'll have a Cappuccino and a ham and cheese croissant." Orihime said before nudging Ulquiorra to speak. He sighed before he spoke.

"I will have a Cafe Latte and bagel." he said monotonously. He reached out for the wallet in his back pocket and opened it to get the money. Rukia stopped him.

"You don't need to pay. I always keep my promises so this is on the house." Rukia said with a smiled as she got to the drinks.

Orihime simply shrugged at him as she led him to a table in the more roomy and unseen side of the cafe. Orihime simply propped up her elbow and rested her head on her palm. Ulquiorra simply sat down in his usual robotic manner. "Ms. Kuchiki seems to enjoy giving people freebies."

"It's because Rukia can't do anything else. And besides, she wants her friends most especially to appreciate this little cafe she loves. Or so I've heard." Orihime replied.

"Friend?" he asked as he pointed to himself. "Me?"

"I'm her friend too you know... and since you're my friend, you're hers too." Orihime flat out replied.

"I see? Friendship is a rather odd thing." he commented bluntly.

"And you're rather odd for thinking of friendship in that particular manner." she shot back.

"I know I am odd, what difference does it make to have someone tell that to me when I already know it." he replied.

She laughed at him. "Stop being so philosophical." she scolded.

"It is my character. What can I do, I was born like this." he replied monotonously.

"Now that's just you being flat out ridiculous."

He stared at her. "Please, if you believe that I am flat out ridiculous then how do you deal with yourself upon looking at a mirror woman." he replied sarcastically.

Orihime frowned. "The same could be said for you Ulquiorra..." she retorted.

Rukia came with tray in hand. She raised an eyebrow at them and wondered if this was how they acted on a daily basis. She shrugged it off before she returned to the counter after Orihime thanked her. As soon as Rukia got back, Ichigo stood up out if boredom and had begun to assault Rukia with random things for no apparent reason. It was always an amusing sight to watch the two bicker. It's strangely funny and heartwarming at the same time.

"What do you think of those two?" Orihime asked.

"Them? It is rather obvious at first glance really, they're a bunch of love stricken fools who show their love through bickering." Ulquiorra said bluntly as he watched them before twitching slightly. "And for some strange demented reason, they have suddenly gone from madly furious to demandingly sexual..." he added.

Orihime looked at them and laughed at Ulquiorra had said. "You're right... Those two really are amusing." she chuckled.

"And there goes Ms. Hinamori, teasing them profusely."

"And they're both completely red." Orihime added.

"Oh, they're silent now..."

"And they've officially stopped being amusing for now." Orihime said as she sipped her coffee.

"How very true." he replied as he finally realized that his cafe latte had cooled down. He grabbed the mug and slowly ingested the hot drink.

"This is rather delicious..." he commented.

"I know right!" Orihime said in a cheerful way.

"You know... It is somewhat a relief to see a remnant of your old personality every once in a while. I fear that I will not last very long if I am overly exposed to your excessive haughtiness and boisterous obnoxiousness." he said as he ate his bagel, which was to say absolutely delicious.

She full on glared at him. "Excuse me? Haughty, boisterous and obnoxious?" she asked with a very assertive tone.

"Exactly. How else am I to describe living with you." he replied in his irritating monotonous voice.

"I'm like an angel. Millions of fans can attest to that."

"An angel? More like a dolled up succubus." he replied further inciting her rage. This was ridiculously fun.

"Succubus? I swear, your insults and sarcastic remarks are getting worse everyday. It's remarkable, really..." she replied with a truckload of sarcasm injected in her tone.

"I am glad you think so." he replied.

"Oh the joy..." she shot back.

"Bitter?"

"I'm blaming you."

He smirked slightly but Orihime saw it and was greatly shocked. Ulquiorra Schiffer never smiled let alone smirked. "Is something wrong with you?" she asked in a shocked way as she extended her hand to feel his forehead. "You're not sick are you?"

Ulquiorra brushed her cool hand aside in one single swipe of his hand. "I am perfectly well." he replied. "Is it that odd of me to display a smile?" he asked.

She nodded her head abruptly. "Of course it is. You're like Robot Mozart." she commented.

"Robots can't smile much less Mozart? Mozart was a very emotional man mind you."

Orihime sighed. "You're weird."

"I know. You have told me that many many times."

She sighed. "The way you think is remarkable."

"And so is yours. How else does one think of making Peanut Butter and Jelly Pasta?" he replied.

"I was bored." she sighed.

"Yes, if that's how you want to put it."

She sighed and smiled. This was surely she something she could live with for an eternity. A person who doesn't treat her as some fragile object. Someone who treated her like a normal average human being.

"Maybe if you were more expressive, maybe I would've liked you earlier. But then again, an emotionless you is best." she said.

"I am not emotionless... I merely keep my feelings to myself." he replied.

"Then what are you feeling right now because I obviously can't tell." she said.

He paused to ponder on whether he should really be telling her this. "It is a secret."

She smiled as if she knew something he didn't. "It is rather awkward right now. Should I engage in a conversation with her? But it is rather out of character. I will just act like usual. But what if she thinks I am being indifferent. It is just Orihime so she will understand since she knows me so well." Orihime said before grinning at him.

"That's what you're thinking right now." she said as she cocked her head to the side. "Isn't that right Ulquiorra?"

"However, figuring out how you feel is a different matter." she added.

He was silent but anyone could tell that he was sure as hell surprised. They had been living together for precisely seven months if one had counted in December. Was that long enough to understand how a person thinks. He made no attempt to speak.

"Please, I will always appreciate anything you do for me regardless of whether it's in character or otherwise." she reassured him. His breathing rate had returned to normal.

"Are you psychic by any chance?" he asked hence acknowledging that she had been very well correct.

"Sadly no, I just know you far too well." she replied.

"The day I met you was the oddest day of my life. I was surprised to find Orihime Inoue among my audience in that small time music club. You were intrigued so you followed me home for fun. Then you scolded me for living in such a small apartment. Of course, my job was a small time one so that was all I could ever afford without selling my piano."

He let out a small smile but made sure to conceal it. "You offered to share your apartment saying that my talent was being wasted. If that had never happened then I would not be readying myself for my debut as of the moment."

"Thank you Orihime..."

Orihime blushed rather hard, but had managed to save herself before he noticed. "Y-your welcome..." she blurted out. Gosh was her face really hot.

She had no idea how much thankful Ulquiorra was.

Sooner or later the couple bid the usual gang farewell as they exited the cafe together. If their pictures weren't all over the Internet by the end of the day, that would be a huge miracle. Ulquiorra still dared not to do anything out of his comfort zone out of fear that he might do the wrong thing. Though an unusual Ulquiorra was still someone Orihime would cherish nontheless.

The best Ulquiorra had done was take the initiative to lead her. Where they were headed, she had no idea. All she knew was that her random whim entitled them the whole day for their date. Not that he minded and of course she would not dare to mind after that little show she played for him. Uncharacteristically enough, she barely spoke a word as though she was mute.

Maybe he should surprise her. That was what she had wanted after all. Why not indulge her?

Ulquiorra quickly grabbed her hand before he could begin to regret his action. He had decided on acting on what he had wanted to do and he had simply stopped caring. Her fingers quickly intertwined with his accompanied with a light blush from her. His hand was extremely warm as compared to the color of his skin which looked like pale ice white.

She remained quiet but Ulquiorra felt that the atmosphere had changed from awkward to something much more comforting. He was content with that already. Just as long as he could see or feel that she was happy, that was enough for him.

"This is out of character."

"I know however, that is how you want it correct?" he replied smartly.

"Yes well-"

"As long as you like it then it is fine."

She stayed quiet. His hand was rather soft. Perhaps it was because his hand was a pianist's hand. For a pianist, his hands were everything to him. One cannot play the piano without it. It was just too soft for a guy. Though pianist's normally have big hands and long fingers in order to reach all the keys.

Well... You know what they say about men with big hands.

No, that is a bad way to think Orihime, she scolded herself in her mind.

They walked that way for the entire time he was leading her. People were staring in their direction by they could honestly care less. This was their time and their time alone. Not anybody else's. And for that, Orihime was grateful. They stopped in front of some fancy looking building. It's architecture made it look like it hailed from renaissance Italy. Ulquiorra lead her up the steps and entered the building. The inside had been simply splendid and the shops inside displayed such expensive and regal instruments.

They opened a room where it was extremely dark. They only saw the lights on the steps. He got her to sit in the darkness as he left her side. After a few minutes, the lights opened and there was a stage in the middle. It was a place where famous pianist debuted and it was also where Ulquiorra would be debuting as a pianist.

He was in the middle where a midnight black piano lay alone under the soft light. He clicked the key making a classy sound. Then, his fingers made an eruption of music. He was playing Musique Pour La Tristesse de Vega but in such a bigger and grander scale. It was sad but it had a happy grand end. The sad part was mellow and tear jerking and once the piece ended, Orihime was left breathless.

Tears were forming in her eyed, her chest felt light. Then she understood what he had wanted to say.

She stood up and walked towards the stage. She got up after much struggle but she managed. Orihime walked and was met by him. Without a second thought, with tears in her eyes, she ran up to him and hugged his warm lean form. No words were said. They understood each other.

After all, a pianist's music was composed of his true heartfelt feelings.

Ulquiorra practically froze on the spot but following his instinct and hugged her. They shared a moment before the most unexpected person came in the concert room. The couple quickly separated with a blush to see who it was. Orihime was unable to speak as the person walked up to them.

"I'm sorry I followed you Orihime but it's Christmas and delaying this any further won't bring you your happy ending." she said with resolution while her companion stood close by her.

Orihime's face turned serious. "You're right Tatsuki... I should've just talked to you all those years ago... But I was being stupid."

Ulquiorra held her hand for support. He may not show it but he was extremely worried for her. Orihime gripped his hand for assurance.

"It wasn't your fault. If only I had warned you sooner about him then you-"

"Like that would have made any difference." Orihime cut her off. "He practically trained me to be madly in love with him to the point of dependency. I was blinded, extremely... No one could've reached me then."

Tatsuki stared down in melancholy. "I just hate to admit that I couldn't do a thing for you."

Orihime was quiet but then Ulquiorra surprised her again by dragging her down the stage for a face to face confrontation. He didn't leave her side, that made her feel safe.

"I was an idiot... I fell in love with the wrong person. I was... abused by the wrong person. I did the wrong things. I hurt the wrong people. These past eight years have been filled with wrongs..."

"Orihime..."

Orihime bit her lip before smiling softly. She extended her free hand toward Tatsuki. "Would you help me make my wrongs right Tatsuki? I can use a friend along the way." she asked.

Tatsuki looked really grateful as she took Orihime's hand. "Honestly, I expected this to be a lot harder."

"So did I but I guess we should thank our leading men don't you think? If they weren't here then where would we be?" she replied.

"If I didn't have Renji, I'd be stuck being in love with my childhood friend who would only ever see me as a friend and since he doesn't know about you, nothing would've happened." Tatsuki said.

"Yes well if I didn't find Ulquiorra, I wouldn't be here and I would still be ruining lives."

"Think you'll go back to the way you were?"

Orihime glanced at Ulquiorra before shaking her head. "This new Orihime is a part of me. Haughty, sarcastic, obnoxious... That Orihime is a part of me now and so was the Orihime who was innocent and pure."

"And besides... It was this Orihime who was able to see Ulquiorra Schiffer for who he really is." she added as Ulquiorra remained silent. It was so rare to hear Orihime speak her mind in full detail.

"Perhaps a double dinner date is in order? Renji was planning on taking me to some fancy restaurant in commemoration of finally coming out of his puny minuscule shell." Tatsuki joked.

"Hey!" Renji snapped at her but she ignored him.

"That works, if you two don't mind that is..."

"Of course we don't mind. Right Renji?"

He shrugged. "Sure, whatever makes you happy." he replied.

Tatsuki held her hands tightly. "It's settled then, we should just go together for the rest of the afternoon!"

Orihime chuckled. "You don't act like a boy..."

Tatsuki blushed. "People grow... And mature." she said. She said the last part in a choked way.

"And I've seen you flirt... A lot." Orhime grinned.

Renji shot Tatsuki a weird angry look. "Flirt? Tatsuki..."

"No no no! Goddamnit Renji, that was before I dated you!" Tatsuki yelled at him in a fit of feminine rage.

Renji was still suspicious. "If you say so."

"I do say so." she replied before gesturing Orihime to get going. Naturally, Tatsuki and Renji went ahead as Tatsuki was practically whipping and lashing him with her sharp tongue while Orihime and Ulquiorra followed.

Ulquiorra sighed. "What have you gotten us into now woman?" he whined.

"Shut up, it's your fault. You're the one who brought me to her." she retorted.

He paused. "Point taken..."

Orihime stopped Ulquiorra briefly before they fully exited the concert hall. She faced him with a blush on her face. And all of a sudden, she grabbed his collar and dragged him down. She tiptoed a bit and kissed him fully on the lips. She quickly redrew with a blush, hoping that she got her feelings across.

"Woman, it us better if you say it." he said in a disapproving tone as though he 'wasn't' satisfied with his kiss.

She blushed furiously. "Fine then... I better not regret this..." she mumbled as she faced him with earnest eyes. It took her a while to find her voice.

"I love you Ulquiorra."

He smirked slightly as he cupped her face with his warm hand. "I am afraid you do not know how to kiss people. I believe it goes like this." he said as he closed his eyes and kissed her.

His lips slid against her cold lips. He started out slow to get her in the mood before going a bit more rough. He parted her lips in attempts to satisfy her. How could she live for several months with him when she had these feelings. Even he had a limit, she must've been really patient. Ulquiorra took the risk as his tongues lightly nudged at her lips, begging for entrance. Something she quickly obliged.

The taste of her was unlike anything he had ever tasted before. He couldn't tell what flavors danced upon her tongue and he didn't care. It was Orihime's own unique flavor. Orihime wasn't going to lose to the most unromantic guy on the planet. No wait, the universe. As if her knew about kissing. She was an actress for crying out loud.

Orihime battled him much more fervor than he could ever produce in his lifetime... That is if she would try to teach him how to display such fervor.

He was overwhelmed by her. You want Hollywood kisses? She could do that. Damn well too, the unemotional man should be grateful that he was the one she fell in love with. Truth be told, he wasn't who she imagined her dream guy to be but at this point, she didn't care anymore.

They pulled back for air and Orihime frowned. "It's not fair that only I get to say it."

He paused before kissing her forehead. For an unfeeling man, he sure as hell was passionate. Uncharacteristically enough. "Are you absolutely sure that you want to hear this now. You might become tired of me saying it every single day starting from now woman."

She chuckled. "Do you have to be such a kill joy?"

"I will take that as a yes." he said as he planted another kiss on her tender lips.

He hugged her tightly and made sure his voice was working her ear's range.

"I love you Orihime... I always have ever since you had dragged me to your apartment. Was that too cheesy for you?" he whispered before ruining the moment with his pathetic question.

Orihime was delighted of course but then she had to frown. "You always ruin the good part... Stupid Robot Mozart..."

She could've sworn he hears her chuckle slightly. "It will be alright... If it satisfies you then I shall call you Hime from now on." he replied.

"Of all the nicknames to choose from... You pick the obvious one."

"It suits you to a T if we are referring to the arrogant princess type who is rather spoiled regarding everything." he replied.

She smiled. "Oh shut up... I don't need to hear that from you. But we need to tell Yumichika so he can handle the publicity issues." Orihime said with a taunting finger.

He sighed. "Your homosexual manager who has an obsession with... things?" he said with evident disgust.

"He's not that bad... He has his good parts, like caring for those who matter to him... And he's not homosexual, he's just... Well you know... Bi?"

"You are not even sure woman..." he commented.

"Yes well, even he confuses me."

He sighed. "And if he confuses you then he is confusing me even more... I can not stand him... Whenever he comes barging in to tell you about some important appointment, I get looks from the man."

"Yes, well... What can I say, if you smiled more you'd be quite attractive."

"It takes an Orihime to find an Ulquiorra attractive?"

"Yes."

Suddenly, the doors barged open again much to the couples dismay.

"You can both attempt your romantic idea of having some tryst in a music concert hall on the piano later. Right now, a guy with a real appointment with this place is on his way and if you're here then he's going to murder you and bribing the man looks futile." Tatsuki warned.

Orihime simply laughed as she dragged Ulquiorra out of the concert hall and back into the long renaissance hallway. Sooner or later, they were back out on the street and the couples walked on after deciding upon the meeting time and the meeting place.

Orihime walked with him side by side. He was the only reason why she felt so warm. Her heart swelled as she relived something she had not felt in such a long time. No, scratch that. She had never felt like this in her life. And if she had any past lives, this feeling was definitely new.

"Oh! Well well well... Things have been going rather smoothly."

A certain woman sighed heavily as she strode heavily to a table. She had he hand on the laptop cover as though she was ready to close it. "Please don't tell me you borrowed my laptop just to watch porn?" she scolded.

The one ogling the laptop glared. "Please Rukia, watching porn is so low and do you honestly think I'm the type to watch porn? I'm not a guy..."

"Please Momo, like I don't know you. What happened to that time in the college dorm thing when you were dragging around heaps of R-rated films."

"Those were movies, porns are... well, porn."

Rukia sighed as she massaged her temple. She moved next to Momo to see what it was she was looking at. "Oh my... That is rather interesting."

"I know right, to think it happened so fast."

"Maybe she should've waited. The man looks uncomfortable."

"Of course he would with assets like hers."

"Please don't tell me they're not gonna screw like rabbits from now on..."

"You can't help it Rukia, it's a part of normal healthy life."

Ichigo banged his table and stood up in a fit of tiny rage. He strode heavily to Rukia and Momo with his trademark scowl. "Just what the fuck are you looking at!"

Momo grinned. "What's wrong Ichigo? Did you think some busty blond lady made the guy uncomfortable by sucking his dick perhaps?"

"Or that maybe they were about to screw like rabbits perhaps and the thought just happened to arouse you?" Rukia added with a coy grin.

He blushed hard. "Oh shut up." he said as he forced the laptop to face him. His expression changed drastically.

It was an online celebrity dirt site and a picture of Ulquiorra and Orihime was on it.

AN: O_O... Ah well hisashiburi desu~ it's an Ulquihime short desu yo~ ... no reaction? I can understand, this kinda feels like crap but I just wanted to write it. And I also wanted to show a relationship that doesn't need words, just music. Gosh that sounds melodramatic. Don't worry, I'll get back on track and on to the main even that you've all been anticipating. I'm just prolonging the misery...

Random torture announcement: Kaien is going to play a really big role that is IchiRuki related so don't think I abandoned him too soon and I remember you guys commenting on how you expected Rukia to be conflicted about her feelings and that didn't really happen. Well, this isn't feelings related but it's majorly connected to Rukia.

You guys know the drill. Please Review! Reviews are always well appreciated.

Animegirl15- aww boo... I miss you but I don't get much laptop time and my PM on mobile sucks like hell...

Mindless Abandon- If you want it to be exact. There's about 15 x 2 + 30 / 10 x 5 / 2 chapters left. Actually... May seem pretty long to you but it feels short for me when I made my timeline. And of course there's Byakuya... He's already in my plans...

Thanks as always Moonlight's Shadow Warrior, shnizlefritz, c. sophie, airock and IRForever.

P.S To a certain Beta Reader... my connection is still pending but I don't want to keep anyone waiting when it's been done for a while so I'll go on ahead with this one okay?

AkaBaka-chan signing off!