A/N: My first Ulquihime fic! Please forgive any OOC-ness. p_p I will explain in the bottom author's note if you care to read.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Bleach. If I did, Ulquiorra and Orihime would get married and have lots of babies. Ze end. U_U

"Wake up," he whispered, gently stroking her copper colored hair.

She ignored his request and rolled over, mumbling in her sleep. He frowned slightly and sighed, waiting for the snooze alarm to go off. When it finally did go off she merely gave it a smack and rolled back over, snuggling into his chest.

"Ulquiorra," she mumbled. The newfound organ in his chest gave a thump, his eyes widening slightly at the mention of his name.

"Are you dreaming about me, woman?" he mused aloud, tucking a sunlit strand behind her ear. His skin tingled pleasantly where her breath swept across it, making him want to melt into her warmth. He continued stroking her face, long, prickly fingers caressing marble skin that was so precious to him. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled, taking in her sweet scent as he hid his smile beneath her silky locks. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to her forehead, then scooted down so he was face to face with her.

"Woman, you are going to have to get up soon. You will be late, and I for one do not want to hear you complaining," he teased, poking her arm thoughtfully. She frowned and squeezed her eyes shut. "Woman—"

He was cut off by the shrieking of the alarm clock.

"Okay, okay," she grumbled, swatting at it once more before sitting up. She rubbed her eyes, squinting against the sunlight as she looked down at him. He stared back at her, biting his tongue to keep from chuckling at her disheveled appearance. Her tossing and turning all night long did not help her frizzy hair one bit.

"Why did I dream about you again, Ulquiorra?" she sighed. He shrugged, nearly falling off the bed as she rolled over him to reach the floor. He caught her eyes, noticing the way the normally sparkling amber had dulled to a dark brown.

"You only look like that when you dream about me," he told her matter-of-factly. She ignored him again and walked to the bathroom, tying her hair up with a ribbon as he remained on the tangled sheets, watching her. He gripped the white cotton and turned away, blushing as she tugged off her tank top and underwear to get into the shower.

"When are you going to learn to close the door?" he hissed, narrowing his eyes at the wall where she stood on the other side. He sighed again and rested his head against her pillow, staring up at the ceiling as he listened to the sound of her humming in the shower. He waited impatiently, glancing at the clock every now and then until she finally got out.

"Now you really will be late. What took you so long?" he asked, crossing his arms as she hurriedly got dressed. She snorted and quickly pinned her wet hair up before grabbing her bag and running out the door. He rolled his eyes and reopened it, locking it before he took off after her.

"How many times do I have to say this to you, woman? You stay up too late at night. Humans need their rest," he reasoned as he hurried alongside her. She sighed and looked past him, checking her watch before running across the street. She would have gotten hit if he hadn't pushed her out of the way. She tumbled onto the concrete and quickly jumped back up, taking off running once more with a cry of "ha!". He wanted to yell at her for her stupidity, but it was beneath him. He did NOT yell.

When he finally caught up to her, he let loose a lecture that he had been saving up all night.

"You will no longer be allowed to be awake past the hour of ten. You will be home by six, before it gets dark, and you will eat dinner at seven before doing your homework. After that is done, you may have some leisure time, but only if you go to bed at the proper time. When you wake up in the morning, you must eat breakfast, as you had forgotten to do this morning. Here, I have packed a small snack for you," he said, slipping a rice ball into her bag. She didn't notice, just kept walking. He flicked a leaf that had fallen into her hair and resumed his speech.

"You will eat it. I cannot have you becoming ill due to your lack of intelligence about food. Tatsuki will probably buy your lunch, so make sure you eat every bite. You will also—"

She cut him off with a growl as she leapt over a puddle before charging up the driveway to Karakura High. He glared down at the puddle before stepping over it and catching up with her once more.

"Make sure to stay awake in class this time. I'll be waiting for you when you get back," he said, managing to give her a peck on the cheek before she raced into the building. He sighed and stared at the doors for a moment before going to get comfy on a nearby bench.

Despite the late start, the day was really quite beautiful. The sky was muddled with clouds, but the sun broke through every now and then to give an extra burst of hope. He closed his eyes as cool wind blew through his hair, making goose bumps rise on his pale skin. Around noon, he changed position and laid on his back, watching the clouds roll through the sky like white capped waves on the ocean.

"Elephant," he observed, eying a particular clump of fluffy cloud.

He soon grew bored and sat up, stretching his legs before walking around to the other side of the building so he could watch her eat lunch with Tatsuki. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed his perfectly shaped rice ball had not been touched.

"I will talk to you later," he said, managing to keep his voice even as he stomped away. "Stupid woman."

He leaned back against a tree and frowned, then peeked over his shoulder. She was still chattering away with Tatsuki, her rice ball remaining untouched. He smirked when Tatsuki yelled at her for not eating.

"See? I am always right," he mumbled to himself.

The rest of the school day inched along until finally he could take it no more. He stood at the bottom of the steps, glaring at everyone who spewed out of the doors who was not her. He caught of a glimpse of orange and became hopeful for a moment before he realized it was only trash. He kept his eyes on the door as the youth paused beside him. He knew that Kurosaki was giving him that strange, pitiful look, but he did not want to be pitied right now.

"She was right behind me a few moments ago. She'll be out in a minute, Ulquiorra," Kurosaki whispered. He kept staring straight forward, ignoring the small pat on the shoulder the orange headed teen gave him before walking on. He would not be pitied.

A low growl vibrated his vocal chords, his eyes narrowing to slits as he watched her walk out with the other trash. The trash that couldn't even touch him, he thought, amused. They passed without even sparing a glance at him, but he could tell something was wrong by the look in her eyes. She looked like a wounded animal, but of course only he saw it. She was smiling at the trash so that he didn't notice she was upset.

"Why are you upset, woman?" he asked.

"Goodbye, Ishida-kun! See you Monday!" she said with false cheerfulness, waving like an idiot. He tugged on her arm, trying to force her to walk faster, but she was having none of it. She moped along sadly, her feet dragging against the pavement with each step she took. He repeated his previous question, but she refused to answer. He glared at her in silence until they reached her empty apartment.

She fumbled around in her bag for her keys before unlocking the door and heading in, kicking her shoes off at the entrance. He helped her shrug off her coat before she walked over to her brother's shrine and hugged his picture to her chest. Alarm rang through him as she let out a sob, and he quickly went to her. He listened silently as she sobbed, stroking her hair and wiping her tears away.

"Oh nii-san, I can't take it anymore," she blubbered. "First I lost you, and then him too. I don't care if he didn't love me, I just want to see him again!" she cried. His ears perked up at this.

"But I do love you," he whispered, fearlessly looking into her eyes. She shuddered as more sobs wracked her small frame, clutching her brother's picture closer to her chest. He frowned sadly and gathered her in his arms, hugging her from behind.

"I just wish he was here with me," she wailed.

"I just wish you would notice me here with you," he whispered.

A/N: Here I will explain what's going on incase you didn't get it. Don't worry, it wasn't really that obvious, haha. Ulquiorra is dead (*sob*), and has become Orihime's guardian angel, of sorts. She can't see him because she's only a human, but Ichigo can because, well, he's good like that. XD I know, lame, but I've had this idea in my head for a while (well, since yesterday) and I just HAD to get it out.

As for any OOC-ness, to be honest I haven't read in the manga where Ulquiorra and Orihime react yet. p_p I'm only on the part where she first gets taken there, but dangit deviantart and fanfiction make me love their pairing! X) So please excuse it. U_U I am merely a girl in love. XD

Please review! I would really appreciate it! If you don't know me, digi-cookies are always given to the first reviewers. :D Mm, taste those pixels!