Enjoy the *NEWLY EDITED* version! I concentrated mainly on content, ...not so much on minor syntax/grammar (my apologies)...however, that will be fixed soon, I promise. (Note: I do not own bleach, I just play with the characters on occasion).

When the inevitable occurs between Ulquiorra and Orihime, what happens...

:::::The Night After:::::

The following day Ulquiorra had entered her room in silence, as always. He'd come and gone as usual, bringing her food with servants in tow, and leaving without pause. It was like last night had never happened.

It was evening now and she stared up at the moon and kept asking herself the same questions over and over again. Did it all really happen? She sat on the couch and rubbed her hands over her white uniform, kneading and massaging her inner thighs. They were still sore and weak from use…last night.

She was so ashamed at how he'd just come in and taken her, she didn't even put up much of a fight. How was this possible? How had last night gone from a quietly stealth private moment to having sex for the very first time...with Ulquiorra? Had she really lost herself in a moment of weakness, just like that? ...He'd never even properly kissed her. ...Well, most of her, that is. She turned several shades of red just thinking of where his mouth had been and what he'd been doing there.

Every intimate fantasy she'd ever envisioned, shattered like glass... How had all of it gone so very...wrong? It was the wrong time, in the wrong place, and with the wrong man... She was mortified, she had nothing left of herself to give Ichigo, should the opportunity arise, should his efforts to save her succeed. Should, could, would ...none of it mattered anymore, she had nothing left. Her innocence was gone.

"Once again, I find you restless and agitated."

She got up from the couch to see him standing near the opened door watching her. She involuntarily moved a step back from him.

"Are you afraid of me?", he said as he continued to calmly approach her, hands remaining in his hakama.

She stopped moving and looked down, ashamed.

"...No."

He stopped a few feet in front of her and stared her down. She wouldn't and couldn't meet his eyes. He watched her slowly cross her arms protectively in front of herself, like she had done initially, the night before.

"You have been anxious all day, does sleep still evade you?"

She looked up at him, her eyes widened in fear and anticipation. He continued to approach her until she backed into a wall, leaned against it, and slumped down to the floor of her cell in submission.

"I've lost everything..."

He regarded her with surprise. She was so animated and alive the previous night, he never expected her to be so forlorn today. He thought back to earlier in the day and realized, with some unease, that he had been rushing through his other responsibilities and obligations to Aizen so he could return to her that much sooner.

Whenever he thought of her, his mind wandered. His thoughts turned to memories of lust, her soft moaning, and her naked body writhing with pleasure from his ministrations. He had hoped she would be awake and in need of him once more. Her current state of despair was very unsettling to him.

"What is it you require?"

She continued to stare at the floor, and then the ugly rug in the center of the room, her ugly rug in her empty room...her home, her life, now and until forever or death. She took a deep breath and began,

"My time on Earth was too short. Did you know I never learned to roller skate? Or ride a bike? ...Or cook food that anyone, besides me, would actually want to eat? I never finished high school, never had a boyfriend, and I never ever had the chance to ...make love." She finished awkwardly while furiously blushing.

"How can you make 'love?'" Ulquiorra asked quizzically.

"...Well we sort of did last night. Sort of, I mean, it was so different than how I thought it would be. A lot less kissing than I thought there would be-" after finishing her thought aloud she put her head on her knees and began to sob silently.

"So, humans term sexual activity as making love?" he asked her.

"Y-You make it all sound so cold, so detached..." Orihime's voice faltered and tears poured from her eyes.

"So, in order for humans to 'make love' you must have an emotional attachment?"

"…Well, not all humans…some of us. I used to think of it that way…but now-"

"-You no longer think that way? Why is this?" he asked her as his eyes narrowed.

"I guess you could say I've had a change of heart…I wanted to save myself for somebody who loved me. It wasn't supposed to be this way! I mean, you never even kissed me-"

"-You are mistaken, there are few areas on your body I did not."

"But...what you did to me, I wasn't ready for any of that…I never even imagined things like that," Orihime said blushing.

"You felt pleasure, did you not? You looked quite content when I left."

"You're missing the point. I was a…virgin before last night. I wanted more than just 'pleasure.' I wanted what every girl wants for her first time. Girls dream of being swept off their feet by their lover, or like a romance novel…or like a bride dressed in white," Orihime blushed again as she stared at her arrancar uniform.

"…Like a 'bride'. Marriage: the joining of two people, a bond for life. ...I'm beginning to understand you. Your virginity was important to you, you saw it as a gift that one gives to a mate."

"…I guess, in a way, I did. Maybe I was being foolish for thinking it would be like that for me. Nothing else in my life has gone as planned. I'm here."

"You have regret. Do you regret last night because it was with me?" Ulquiorra cast his eyes downward and into hers. He seemed genuinely concerned for the first time since she met him.

"No. I do feel something between us…and last night felt…wonderful. What I regret is you not kissing me or making love to me the way I needed you to…well, that and being a prisoner here," she said as an afterthought.

"Then describe for me, exactly, what 'making love' and 'kissing' are so that I am able to provide what you need," he said as he knelt down beside her.

She picked her head up and looked at him for the first time since he'd entered the room. Was he actually attempting to comfort her? Had the world gone mad? After her initial shock, she realized that Espada never showed emotion or weakness, and that this was no small gesture. In his own way, he was giving her a rare opportunity, a chance to make things right. And she desperately needed to be touched and comforted.

"..Umm...Lean closer to me and touch my mouth with yours…"

Ulquiorra closed the distance between them at once and placed his lips against hers. He quickly brushed her lips with his and pulled away to look at her, seeking approval.

"Well…that's a start, I guess. ...Most people kiss for longer than that, I'm probably not explaining it right…uh, let me try and show you what I mean."

Orihime leaned into him and grasped his shoulders at the same time. She then placed his hands on her waist and moved her mouth up to his. He remained still, though his piercing green eyes never looked away from her. He allowed her to continue. She closed her eyes and placed her mouth on his while pressing her lips against his…and then she opened her eyes to watch him and slightly opened her mouth. She moved her tongue slowly along his bottom lip while her lips were still on his.

His eyes widened as he felt her warm tongue slide along his lip, it made him ache with desire to touch her again. Taking her cue, he parted his mouth and allowed her tongue to slide inside. She closed her eyes again and pushed her body into him, exploring his mouth and tasting him. He pulled her even closer wrapping his arms around her and began using his tongue just as she did. He could feel the heat begin to build between them. She tilted her head to the side, broke from their passionate kiss, and moved her lips down to his neck and nibbled slightly. He felt so intoxicated by her that he found himself moaning for the first time,

"…Uhhnn."

The noise startled her and she looked up at him with apprehension.

"Why did you stop?," he said looking at her uncertainly.

"Does that mean you…liked it?"

"It was-," Ulquiorra hesitated, "…Yes."

Orihime couldn't help but smile a little,

"I can't believe how nice it felt…I mean, I've never kissed anyone before," she hesitated, "I've never done anything before…", she looked away from him nervously.

"I knew that before I came to you last night," he said looking away from her.

"You knew? You mean you wanted me?" she asked him looking deep into his eyes.

When he said nothing, she continued,

"You know it hurt more than I thought it would, but it felt so good after," Orihime blushed.

Ulquiorra touched her chin with his white fingertips,

"There will be no more pain." He stated while staring intently back at her.

Her eyes widened at his words and their obvious implication.

"You didn't come here tonight just to see that I didn't escape, did you?"

"No. I came here to be with you…throughout the day, I could think of nothing else."

Orihime blushed again as she thought about what he'd said…but was it her he wanted or just her body?

"You are distracted once more, what is it?"

"Why me though? Why did you only think of me? You don't really know me that well… Tell me, Ulquiorra, what am I to you?"

"Although I have sworn allegiance to Aizen, I have thought of you too often since I first saw you on Earth. You are strange to me. You are strong and proud. You are loyal and possess a unique beauty inward and out. You are something I have never witnessed and you fascinate me beyond reason. And after last night, you are mine, body and soul. From now until the end, I must see you, hear you, feel you…always."

Orihime looked at him thoughtfully and silently appraised him.

I'm his. It's true, I am his, both body and now my soul. Ichigo never had either and that's….forgivable. He would understand, they all would. Arancar's are forbidden from display's of emotion like this, and yet, he told me his feelings without hesitation. Is this love? Does he love me?…He's really all but said it.

"Will you make love to me, Ulquiorra?"

I envy because of the heart...I glutton because of the heart...I covet because of the heart...I am prideful because of the heart...I sloth because of the heart...I rage because of the heart. Because of the heart...I lust for everything about you...

Author's Comments:

I also post this fan-fic on a different website, along with cool pics I made to go with each and every chapter...(details below).

Try this link first (minus the "_", periods, and extra spaces)- nikkione_deviantart_com / art / The-Night-After-135502456" -see? ...this is what happens when you attempt to post a weblink...*sigh*

or if the above fails, just key these words into your favorite search engine "Deviant" and "Art"...once you've arrived at the site, look for "ulquihime" and "the night after" under author "nikkione," sub-category: literature.

Thankyou for reading. And please know that your reviews not only help my writing, but they actually help shape future fan-fics & chapters.

Thankyou again,

-nic :-)

p.s. please don't forget to R&R ;-)