18. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

It was a hot, sticky walk back to the Golden Blossom Guest Houses under skies threatening rain if the humidity raised another notch. Little was said, but Orihime heard the low growling and heavy sighs from both sides of her. She walked between Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, her arms wrapped around a bag of groceries beginning to ( Read more... )

17. Clean Up in Aisle Nine

It had rained that night, leaving a soggy but sunny day the next morning. Orihime had meant to sleep in - her first morning alone in over a week that had seemed more like a month - but she was up early.

She knew it rained because she was awake much of the night, thoughts tossing through her head as she lay curled with a ( Read more... )

15. Barefoot in the Park

Orihime's nightmare from the preceding night was on her mind as she rolled over in the bedclothes and buried her face in her pillow the next morning. In her dream Starrk had shown up, and Ulquiorra had left early for work, and Grimmjow had stayed the night. Again.

She shook her head, rubbing her hair into a fuzzy ball against ( Read more... )

14. Dances with Wolves

As much as Orihime wanted to stock Grimmjow's few cupboards with the essentials of bachelor culinary needs, she also wanted to make sure Ulquiorra had enough time for a nap before he was to leave for work that night. Grimmjow reluctantly agreed to their early departure that stiflingly hot afternoon, but only after they'd ( Read more... )

13. House Cleaning

Grimmjow awoke the next morning on Orihime's couch to Ulquiorra staring at him. He could feel it. For all the lacking qualities of being permanently human, he knew the weight of the Fourth Espada's stare when it was on him.

He grinned, opening his eyes in the early sun that streamed in through the apartment window. "Got a problem?"

( Read more... )

12. Second Coat

Ulquiorra wasn't happy with the explanation about Orihime's new attire addition that afternoon, but it was a better justification than the first one that had leapt to his mind. He gave Grimmjow a calculating stare as they followed Orihime into the apartment.

"Too much blue," was the first thing Ulquiorra could think of to say. "It ( Read more... )

11. When the Music Stops

It was with little sleep from the night before that Orihime set off early Thursday morning across town in the company of two of the once most-dreaded Espadas in several dimensions. She was pleased that Ulquiorra's new clothes fit him well despite not bring able to try them on the preceding day, and equally glad Grimmjow had ( Read more... )

10. Pillow Talk

There was no sleep to be had by anyone that night, and not for the reasons Grimmjow would have liked to imagine. An hour after the soup was finished, the first glimpse of dawn was breaking through the kitchen window, the rain having poured itself out. Despite looking less than her usual sparkly self, Orihime dressed for the day in a ( Read more... )

9. What the Cat didn't Drag In

Grimmjow wasn't ready for Orihime's new ideas for his bachelor pad. Instead of going straight back to her apartment, she convinced him to begin his shopping for house wares. She didn't know if it was such a good idea exposing the mall-goers at large to the former Espada, but if it meant helping Grimmjow into his new ( Read more... )

7. Freedom on Hold

Orihime found herself rid of Grimmjow earlier than five o'clock that afternoon. After stopping to buy a pair of rubber boots for his new job - a shopping venture that proved less painful than the first - and a quick late lunch, he'd left back for the Tsukiji fish market at four.

Once he was gone, she couldn't decide what to do ( Read more... )