Well, I wrote this for the Winterfest that was being held in the livejournal Ulquihime group/Bleachasylum Ulquihime FC. Considering that color spread that came out for New Year's, I was given some nice inspiration. ^^ Also, while I hope the cultural references I used would be easy for everybody to catch, I'm going to include a little index at the end of the story to provide a little info. :)
Anyway, enjoy!
Orihime waved at the distant figures of her friends, wishing them a happy new year one more time before turning to the stairs to her apartment. It seemed like it had been ages since they had all been able to go out like that together without any threat hanging over their heads. It was like there was always something getting in the way, from the mundane but time consuming routine of school to the almost never-ending stream of Hollows that had made their way to Karakura. Aizen had been defeated the summer before, but that had simply meant that the complete lawlessness of Hueco Mundo had returned.
Sighing happily, she went slowly up the stairs, trying to be careful in the constricting furisode. Perhaps normalcy – or as close to normalcy as their group would ever manage – was finally returning. After years of struggle, maybe they were going to be allowed to breathe again.
She reached the landing and made her way to her door. For a moment she stood outside, shivering slightly in the still winter air as she looked for her key in the small clutch she had brought with her. Her brow furrowed as she flipped through the few papers and loose change, unable to find it.
It was only after she had squatted down and took everything out, laying the items in little piles on the rug outside her door, that Orihime accepted the fact that her key was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, she shoved everything back in the purse and closed it with a snap.
Even though she could think of no other option, she could not help but pause for a moment before turning to the door next to hers. She stared at its blank face, drumming her fingers against the clutch still in her hands, before raising her fist and knocking.
There was a short delay, but then she could hear the dull rhythm of footsteps approaching the door. The lock slid out of place, and the door finally pulled back.
"Hi, Ulquiorra!" Orihime said with as much cheerfulness as she could manage, hoping that it would cover some of her embarrassment. "I'm really really sorry to bother you, but could I have the spare key I gave you?"
He paused, and even without him saying anything she could guess what he must have been thinking. "Do you not have your own?"
Laughing awkwardly, she shook her head. "I seem to have misplaced it somewhere."
"Perhaps I should not allow you to make a spare key again," he said quietly as he turned to the small table just past the genkan. "It would give you more incentive to keep track of the one you have."
"Or just leave me completely out of luck," she muttered, feeling herself blush as she took the key he held out to her.
With the key in hand, she felt slightly better and actually managed to raise her eyes to his. Ulquiorra was looking down at her, expression as impassive as ever, even though in the gigai his features did not look quite as sharp. When the silence had dragged on a moment too long, however, she felt words press against her lips. "Did you have a good evening?" she asked.
"It has been adequate," he replied, which Orihime thought was practically like not replying at all.
"I just got back from hatsumode," she continued, wondering if she could press him into an actual conversation.
It was possible, sometimes. When he had first come there, she had spent much of her time trying to help him adjust to life in the world of the living. Initially it had been incredibly awkward, such a turnaround of events that she had not been quite sure how to handle it. But it had become easier with time, and somewhere down the line she had found herself glad that he had been put up in the apartment next to hers; it had made it much easier to hop over and pester him about going to the park or trying the new dish she had made or helping her with a few of the questions on her homework.
Yet, that had slowly changed. Orihime had been swamped with school lately as she tried to prepare for university entrance exams. Half the time she was too tired to make a decent dinner, yet alone visit Ulquiorra. And in any case, Ulquiorra had a job now working nights as a guard of some sort down at a shipping company; she hadn't been able to hold back her laughter when he had told her, but she figured that it was probably as fitting of an occupation for him as any.
So in the past few months, their chances to talk had dwindled until she felt lucky if she could catch him once or twice a week. There had been a couple occasions when they had tried to spend some time together, but something always came up. Which, she figured as she stood there, wondering if he would reply, probably did a lot to explain why she found that she was so anxious to talk to him now; sometimes she was convinced that she missed him, even with him living so close.
Eventually he nodded slightly. "I know. You invited me to come last week."
"Well, I figured it probably wasn't a piece of information you would file away if you weren't coming," she said, feeling a little defensive.
"It is an easy thing to recall, given the day and your attire." His eyes drifted for a moment and she stiffened unconsciously. "That color suits you," he said softly.
Orihime tried to clear her head of the sudden compliment and beat back the heat that wanted to creep across her face. "Thank you."
Either Ulquiorra was unaware of the effect of his comment or he chose to ignore it, because he continued as though the words were no different than any others. "Was it as enjoyable as you anticipated?"
"It was fun, although the shrine was too crowded and we had to wait in line a while. I think next time we'll go somewhere else." Folding her arms to keep warm, her gaze dropped to her sleeves. "I thought you were busy tonight."
"I never said that I was."
"Then why didn't you come?"
He shifted; she could hear the rustle of his clothes even though she would not look at him. "I did not think my presence would be as welcomed by the rest of your friends. I did not want to interrupt your time with them; you have told me before that it has been difficult for all of you to visit together recently."
"It's also been difficult for me to visit with you recently," she countered, trying not to get too flustered by admitting something like that. "You're my friend, too."
There was silence again now, and Orihime wondered if she had said too much. Clearing her throat, she tried to push the awkwardness away. "Well, you're free now, aren't you?"
One of Ulquiorra's brows raised slightly at this. "Yes."
"Then you should grab a coat and we'll go on a hatsumode together," she said, hoping that her voice held more conviction than she felt.
"You've already gone. It would be redundant for you to go again."
"Ulquiorra!" she huffed, feeling flustered at the idea of failing on this one occasion when she had actually managed to be assertive. "That's beside the point. And in any case, you haven't gone, so it won't be completely redundant."
She almost expected him to refute her statement again, but he merely turned to the closet and withdrew a jacket. Even in her surprise, Orihime stepped back from the door as he slid his shoes on and then joined her outside.
"Where do you intend to go? You said the shrine you visited was too busy," he said as he finished buttoning up his jacket and started to go down the stairs.
Overcoming her shock, Orihime hurried after him as best she could. "Well, there's that shrine about two blocks from here that isn't very big. The grounds are pretty small, so maybe fewer people visited it. I suppose it'd be worth a try."
Ulquiorra did not respond, but once they were at ground level he turned in the direction of the shrine she had mentioned. There were fewer people out on the streets now, and she was actually able to walk next to him as they made their way along the twisting road. Without any conversation to distract her, Orihime found herself peeking up at him every few moments, caught up in a myriad of observations about how strange the whole situation was.
"I cannot help but feel curious about what you are finding so fascinating about my face," Ulquiorra suddenly said, his eyes sliding over to look at her.
Orihime grinned. "You look a lot more comfortable now than you did when you first got here. I wouldn't say relaxed but just… I don't know. It's different."
"I suppose I have come to accept my circumstances," he agreed, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he looked forward again. "It is better to acclimate to the present situation rather than dwell on the past."
"Is there really much you miss from the past?" she wondered.
"No." The answer was immediate, said without any hesitation, and Orihime felt herself release a breath she had not known she had been holding. "This world is very different from Hueco Mundo, but I am content. You forced me to look at it in a different way than I had before."
Rubbing her neck, Orihime laughed. "I didn't think I 'forced' you to do anything. I'm pretty sure it would be impossible to make you do something you didn't want to do."
"Woman, your persistence is impossible to avoid. Once you have made up your mind, there is no way to sway you; I became aware of this even when I was supposedly in the position of control."
Orihime could not quite find a response to that. As with many of his statements, she had trouble deciding on the intent behind his words, even if the meaning was evident. So, unsure of what to say, she remained silent.
This turned out to be just as well because a moment later they stood in front of the small lane between a used bookstore and hundred yen shop that led to the shrine. Going single file so that the few people who were leaving could pass, they made their way back to the small open space around the shrine.
The area was lit by two stone lanterns and a few strings of lights overhead, casting a warm glow over everything that belied the chill of the air. Orihime smiled at the quaintness of the small shrine, the soft chatter of the other people breaking the quiet. After all the chaos earlier that night, the peacefulness was refreshing. Even though it was fun to be around a lot of people sometimes, she could not help but feel that this was the way a shrine should be.
Turning to Ulquiorra, she tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the heiden. "We should say our prayers first. One year when I came with my brother, I got so excited that I almost forgot, so I always try to make sure I do it first thing now."
Wordlessly, he followed the pull of her hand, accepting the coins she dug out of her clutch when she explained the custom and he told her that he had brought no money. They stood side by side and tossed in their coins. As Orihime prayed, she was tempted to look at Ulquiorra and see if he was, too, but decided that she did not want to make him second guess his decision if he was.
With that done, they stepped back and made room for the other people who had come. As they moved, Orihime caught sight of an elderly monk who was selling omikuji. She grinned and turned to Ulquiorra. "Have you ever gotten a fortune before?"
The look he gave her was completely unimpressed. "There is nothing predictive about pulling a piece of paper out of a box at random," he said dully.
"It's not like you take it seriously!" she said, furrowing her brow for a moment. "It's just for fun. Will you at least try it?"
"I have already allowed you to drag me out here, so feel free to take advantage of the opportunity."
She laughed as she started toward the monk, walking backward for a moment so that she could face Ulquiorra. "Well, you did reveal that I just need to be persistent."
"In hindsight, I suppose that was a piece of information I should have kept to myself."
He's joking with me, Orihime realized suddenly, and this made her heart pound just a bit harder. It had happened before on a few occasions, but the novelty of it still remained. He was always so serious around everybody – he had been so with her for a long time as well – but the fact that he would open up like that around her sometimes made her feel a sort of satisfaction. She could not help but think about their conversations in Hueco Mundo, when everything he said told of the emptiness that comprised his view of existence. It was so different now.
They reached the elderly man, and Orihime handed him two five yen pieces for their omikuji. He smiled kindly at them and gave Orihime the fortunes. After stepping a few feet away, she held the fortunes up in between them, one in each hand. "Alright, choose."
"It hardly makes a difference if I choose or you do." Ulquiorra tipped his head to the side slightly as he considered her, and for a moment she was distracted by the way the lamplight hit his eyes. Maybe she had had one too many sips of the sake everybody had shared earlier.
She shook the papers at the same time that she shook herself from her thoughts. "But you're the one who has never done this. I would like you to pick which one you want."
Sighing – he actually sighed – Ulquiorra reached out and took the fortune from her left hand. Orihime bounced on the balls of her feet as he read it and then looked back up at her. "This is ridiculous."
Fighting back a laugh at just his reaction, Orihime reached for the paper and read it. At this point the giggles bubbled up and she could not contain them. "But Ulquiorra, you should be happy about this!" she chirped, trying to keep up with him as he made his way to the path that led from the shrine. When she managed to catch up, she slipped her arm through his. "I know a lot of girls who would love to get a fortune like that! A middle blessing for a person being waited for and one's desire… it's pretty clear what that means."
When he glanced down at her, she felt her smile falter for a moment at his expression. For a split second, she almost imagined that he looked slightly vulnerable, something not quite so guarded about his eyes. She almost stopped walking, but her arm was still linked with his.
"I am not waiting for anybody," he said quietly as he faced forward again.
Again the walk was quiet. When they made it back to the main road, she still stood next to him, suspecting that if she released his arm that the pace he would set would be impossible for her to maintain. She did not mind being so close to him, but something about that look made her uneasy. She kept her eyes trained on the sidewalk and did not dare to raise her head even when they got back to the apartments.
Finally they reached the top of the stairs, and Orihime could feel the awkwardness pressing down on her as though it were a physical thing. Surely there was something to say, something she should say, but the words eluded her, obscured by the buzzing of her thoughts.
"I need to get my key," Ulquiorra eventually said.
Distractedly she nodded, still grasping for something that could brush away the strange air that had settled between them.
"You will have to release my arm for me to do so."
Abruptly, Orihime let go, folding her hands in front of her as he pulled out the key and unlocked the door. He said a quiet goodnight and walked inside, the door starting to close behind him. Her heart thudded against her ribs, and she tried to understand the strangely heavy feeling, the sadness that accompanied it. Impulsively, she stepped forward, arms bracing against the door.
She finally looked up at Ulquiorra, ignoring the evident surprise on his features. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." With each word, it felt like a dam was being torn down, allowing everything to slip easily from her lips. "I guess I really shouldn't have had that sake earlier, and maybe I shouldn't have been so forceful in telling you to come with me. It's just been so long since I've been able to spend any time with you, you know? I was really excited… Tatsuki always says that I say nonsense when I get too wound up. So whatever it was, I didn't mean it. Please, I really don't want you to—"
All the cohesion of her thoughts vanished as Ulquiorra rested his hand against her cheek, drawing her face up so that his lips could easily meet hers. The touch was careful, chaste, but it nonetheless froze her in her spot; it seemed like the only thing that could move was her heart, which was beating so fast that she could feel it in her ears.
But his lips were warm and surprisingly soft, and the hand tipping her head toward his was so gentle, all such contradictions to the image that he had always displayed. Unconsciously, she leaned closer, tentatively kissing back.
And then he drew away, leaving her to take a shaky breath as the shock slowly filled the part of her mind that had been too distracted. The hand upon her cheek ran back into her hair, making her shiver. "I… I hope that your fortune comes true," she finally managed a long moment after she had opened her mouth; speech was apparently slow to return. "I hope that you can have what you desire."
His eyes wandered across the features of her face and he nodded slightly, pulling his hand back to his side. "I hope so, too."
Orihime stepped back outside, unsure of if she said goodnight or not, and returned to her apartment. She fumbled with the lock before gratefully sinking down onto the floor by the table. Completely distracted, she dropped her open clutch on the table and watched everything fall out, including a white slip of paper.
She looked at it for a long moment. With everything that had happened, she had completely forgotten about the omikuji she had bought for herself. Reaching for it, she hesitantly read the fortune.
Setting it back on the table, she stared at it as she covered her mouth, trying to hold back her weary laughter.
"A great blessing for romantic relationships."
Terms:
furisode: a kimono with long sleeves, worn by unmarried women
genkan: the entrance area in Japanese houses/apartments/etc, where shoes are removed
hatsumode: first shrine visit of the year
heiden: the area of a Shinto shrine where offerings are made
omikuji: slips of paper with random fortunes written on them.