Kairi had bent over to pick Reine up from the floor and put her on the sink counter with Neffe. And when she turned around, she noticed him standing there with his hands at the waist of his pants like he was waiting for her to leave. Which in turn caused the redhead to raise her eyebrow at him questioningly. He actually expected her to leave, didn't he?
The redhead smiled and shook her head. It was a bit unexpected, considering she was sure anyone else wouldn't have hesitated to get undressed in front of her. It was part of her job, after all.
Though she wasn't going to leave the bathroom--simple as that. What if he needed help with something or he slipped and fell and only hurt himself worse. She wouldn't know if she wasn't there for him.
"If you think I'm leaving, you've got another thing coming," Kairi started with a soft laugh. "I'm not leaving in case you need something while you're showering." She paused to pick up Neffe and giggled when he crawled up to perch on her shoulder, and she kept her hand up by him, making sure he didn't fall. "But I'll at least give you privacy while you're undressing."
And with that, she walked back over to the closet and flashed Ulquiorra a grin before she opened the door, ultimately blocking her view from him minus a few inches between the wall and the edge of the door. And Kairi just wasn't the peeking-tom (or peeking-sally in this case) type, so he didn't need to worry about that. "C'mon, Neffe. Help me sort out a few things on this shelf while Mr. Shypants over there gets undressed," she told the kitten loud enough for Ulquiorra to hear the teasing tone in her voice as she set him on one of the shelves.
Yeah, she'd picked up a few nicknames from Rikku. No harm in that, right?
Ulquiorra stared her down. She wasn't seriously thinking of staying here with him, was she? He had enough trouble undressing in front of Grimmjow, and they had slept together. Kairi was a completely different story. Ulquiorra's brow furrowed, and annoyed look coming onto his usually emotionless face. He just kept that look on his face as she spoke and moved to shield herself with the door. It really was no use arguing with her, was it?
"Al...alright," Ulquiorra huffed after her teasing remark to the cat got him to his senses. He guessed he could trust her. She wasn't going to look, and she wasn't going to try to kill him when his guard was down (which was another reason he didn't feel completely safe the time that he had bathed with Grimmjow). He guessed that he would be fine.
He pulled his pants the rest of the way from his thin frame, and then repeated the process with his boxers. He fiddled with the shower, turned it on, adjusted it, and stepped inside. He made sure the water wasn't too hot; his back had already hurt just from the movement of his skin when he pulled down his pants. It still stung. He washed the rest of his body, paying close attention to the wound at his collar. Grimmjow had gotten him in the same place on his left where he had gotten him the time in the park. It had just finished healing, too. He might have to call Chase when it came to that one.
Once he was done, he turned his back to the water, shutting his eyes tightly. It stung. A lot. The water beneath him ran red. But he stood there until it no longer did. He would need some serious attention on his back. The scratches were rather deep. At least none of them had caught his spine, of he knew Grimmjow's claws would have snapped it in half. He hoped he wouldn't have to explain what inflicted the wounds. He knew Grimmjow's other form was quite secret. He had already given away Kairi's secret about telling Ulquiorra what Grimmjow had said; he didn't need another reason for Grimmjow to try to kill Kairi.
He turned off the water when he felt that he had cleaned the wound enough. Kairi would have to wash it the rest of the way. It would be rather gruesome, but there was no way Ulquiorra could do it himself due to the position. Ulquiorra peeked out the shower curtains, searching for a towel to at least dry his hair and wrap around his waist. Drying his back or his chest was rather out of the question. He spotted one, and reached for it.
"Is it alright if I use this towel here?" he asked, making sure only half of his body was visible from where Kairi was if she decided to look and check the towel.
Kairi hadn't really been reorganizing in the closet. In fact, the moment he stepped into the shower, she pulled Neffe off the shelf and shut the closet door, making her way to the sink. She sat Neffe down on the counter next to Reine and sighed as she glanced in the mirror, noting how drained she looked already. She smiled softly when they both mewled at her, and she reached up to slide one of the mirrors to the side. He was definitely going to need some painkillers, and luckily, she had them.
The redhead examined a few bottles that she had, and picked the one with the most strength, setting it down on the counter as she slid the mirror back. She looked at herself in the mirror again, and winced. She really did look horrible. Was fear, nausea, and worry all supposed to do that to someone? She reached for one of the washcloths she had pulled out earlier and was about to turn on the sink when she remembered that, of course, Ulquiorra was in the shower.
The teen sighed again and reached her hand out to the kittens, watching as they both rubbed against her hand and purred. Smiling, Kairi picked up both of the kittens, moved a few things out of the way on the counter and jumped high enough to sit on the counter as she waited. She really had no clue what she was going to do if something happened to Reine and Neffe. They were the things that kept her happy, she realized, and even if she lost one of them, she knew she'd be devastated.
Before she knew it, she heard Ulquiorra turning the water off. Kairi tried to hide her grin as she kept her head looking down at the kittens, when she heard his voice, she looked up with a smile. "Of course. That's why I got them, silly," she said as she tossed one of the towels that was draped over the sink counter to him. She laughed as she looked down at Reine. "Isn't that right, Reine? You watched me get those towels just for Mr. Shypants, didn't you?"
Kairi laughed again when Reine actually meowed at her and turned her head to Ulquiorra. "What did I tell you?"
Ulquiorra made a face before wiping it clean and replacing it with a steeled emotionless expression. He took the towels, muttering to himself a little. It had hurt enough when Grimmjow had later used his shyness to insult him. He didn't need to hear it again. Not from the only other person he would let close enough to hurt him. He wanted to snap at her, but he held his tongue. He just had to stay quiet.
He caught the towel and dried off the lower part of his body, and then most of his chest, and then his hair. He repeated the process once or twice before wrapping the towel around his waist. He peeked out of the curtain again.
"What now?" he asked, flatly. He pushed aside the curtains and sat on the edge of the tub like he had been before. He didn't know what Kairi wanted him to do next, or if she even knew what she was doing in the first place. He really had an urge to call Chase.
Kairi noticed the face he made, which surprised her, but she kept quiet about it for now. Did Ulquiorra really not take to friendly teasing that well? She'd have to make up for that later, then.
The redhead looked him over as he sat down on the edge of the bathtub and she jumped off the counter, kittens in hand. She set them on the floor next to Ulquiorra in case he wanted to pick one of them up, and then turned away. What to do next?
Tilting her head to the side a little as she turned back around and grabbing one of the washcloths, she pursed her lips in thought. "Were you able to get at your back any or do I have to clean that up for you?"
Ulquiorra eyed the kittens. No doubt he would need some sort of comfort soon if Kairi started on his wounds and didn't know what she was doing. She didn't exactly glow with confidence and expertise. He eyed her with such doubts in mind.
"I cannot reach back there...so whatever the shower did when I faced that way was the best I could do..." He frowned. "Can you show me what you have? I will dress this wound on my shoulder, and then you can do the same for my back..." Ulquiorra could do minor injuries himself, and he had watched Chase when it came to his shoulder wound. He made a mental note to go see the doctor when time allowed for him to trek back into Monacello territory.
"You need to finish cleaning my back, put whatever antiseptic you have on it...make sure it is dry and then wrap it." He tone bored on annoyed, but whatever tone it had quickly vanished. The last thing he wanted to do was take out his anger on Kairi. She was helping him after all. The last thing he needed was to alienate the last person in this damn city that meant anything.
Kairi nodded as she turned to run the water in the sink, reaching for the four-by-four gauze pads she'd pulled out and some medical tape and handing it to him. It wasn't that she didn't know what to do--on the contrary, she knew exactly what to do--it was just that she was nervous about hurting him.
And one thing she knew was to not put something like antiseptic directly on a wound. Especially a wound like that.
Once the water was the right temperature, she soaked the washcloth, then squeezed it out. Turning towards Ulquiorra, she leaned over him to reach for her bar of soap and lathered up the washcloth just enough to get the job done.
"All right," Kairi told him as she set the soap back down. "I'll finish cleaning your back while you take care of your shoulder." She gently turned Ulquiorra by his good shoulder so that she could sit on the edge of the bathtub and get his back. She grabbed a towel and pressed it just underneath the bottom of wound (to keep the water and anything else from dripping on the floor), then folded one of her legs underneath her and used her knee to keep the towel pressed against his back.
She started at the top, cleaning it as gently as she possibly could. After a moment, she spoke again. "I didn't upset you with my teasing earlier, did I? I mean... usually when I tease people, it's sort of my way of letting them know I care about them." Kairi let out a soft sigh against the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."
Ulquiorra did his best to look at the wound, but it was on a place on his body that wasn't the easiest to see. He had washed the wound when he was in the shower, now it was just time to dry it. He took some of the gauze and dabbed in on the wound. He really would need stitches, it seemed. But neither him nor Kairi really had the capacity to do that at the moment. Maybe he could patch it up enough that it wouldn't be a problem for at least a few days. He didn't know how he would explain to Kairi if he had to go to the Monacello compound to find Chase.
Once it was dry enough for his tastes, he started to wrap it the best he could and tape it down with the medical tape. It had to be tight. He ended up wrapping most of his left shoulder to cover the wound. At least it would be a little better off now. He could deal with the discomfort for now. It wasn't like the Monacello family doctor could take away the pain. There was only so much anyone could do. The physical and emotional pain was still suffocating.
Ulquiorra moved along with Kairi, letting her have full access to his back. He gritted his teeth through his own work and hers. "It wasn't you..." He said, through those gritted teeth. "I have failed enough these past few days. I would simply appreciate you did not make it any worse." He didn't want to explain about the day of Grimmjow's birthday. The last thing he wanted to do was relive it and tell Kairi how hungry he had been for some kind of attention, some kind of connection, or how hurt he was that he never got to express any of it how he should have.
Kairi frowned at what he said and she paused in her cleaning for a moment before she started at it again. She was silent for a few seconds before she decided to speak. "The only person you're failing is yourself by saying that," she said, her voice soft. "Besides, I don't think you have."
She paused and smiled a little, leaning to the side a little so she could see his face. "If it helps, I like you just the way you are. It doesn't matter what you've done in the past, whether it's been the past few days or the past few years." She leaned forward and, making sure not to touch his back as she did so, kissed his cheek like she did after their first meeting. Except there might've been a bit more behind it than being a friendly gesture. But that was still to be debated in her own heart.
With her smile still on her lips, Kairi leaned back and continued cleaning Ulquiorra's back. She was silent for a few more moments before she shifted slightly, feeling her leg get numb, only to end up losing her balance. Gasping, she quickly reached out her hand to catch herself on the wall of the shower, though she was slipping from it still being wet. She reached behind her with her other hand to grasp at the bit of wall that was an outward corner and managed to pull herself back into an upright position, laughing a bit at herself.
The redhead leaned her head back against the corner she had just pulled herself up by, and grinned. "Before you ask, yes, I'm fine." She lifted her head back up and leaned over to run the water in the bathtub, just warm enough so she could wet the washcloth again. She made sure she had a firm grip on the faucet as she was leaned over and running the washcloth under the water, then turning it off and wringing out the cloth. Kairi lathered it up with the soap again and went back to cleaning his back. "I'll admit it," she started, a smile still on her lips and evident in her voice. "I can be a little clumsy sometimes."
Ulquiorra scoffed. "How I have not?" In the past few days he had lost all foot holds in the family and was awaiting reassignment, or even assassination. He had lost Gin and Hei even after he had trying to kill Grimmjow to get them back. He had lost Grimmjow for good. No part of that was anything but failure. He had lost everyone he had cared about in one final swoop.
Ulquiorra frowned at her words. What did he say to that? She had no idea what all those things were. She knew that he killed people for his profession, but nothing beyond that. He was a high ranking member of the mafia because of how he made people disappear. he had even failed at his job. He had been unable to make Grimmjow disappear, even after Grimmjow had hurt him so much. He couldn't even do that job, the only thing he could do with any certainty. He needed to pull himself together. For now he would just have to distance himself and try to get everything back on track. He would go back to the family stronger than he had ever been.
He had to or there was no point in any of it.
He watched her, quite confused as she slipped. He reached out to catch her, but she had already caught herself. He gave her a look. "You should be more careful...we do not need any more injuries on our hands," he said, warningly. He had finished wrapping his shoulder and now just rested his hands on the edge of the tub. He closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth. He just wanted her to be done with cleaning. It stung a lot. But when he thought about all the damage he had done to Grimmjow, he felt as though he deserved whatever he got. he was a liar now, wasn't he? A two-timer, right? A worthless dog. It was all he had ever been....right?
The redhead smiled and shook her head. It was a bit unexpected, considering she was sure anyone else wouldn't have hesitated to get undressed in front of her. It was part of her job, after all.
Though she wasn't going to leave the bathroom--simple as that. What if he needed help with something or he slipped and fell and only hurt himself worse. She wouldn't know if she wasn't there for him.
"If you think I'm leaving, you've got another thing coming," Kairi started with a soft laugh. "I'm not leaving in case you need something while you're showering." She paused to pick up Neffe and giggled when he crawled up to perch on her shoulder, and she kept her hand up by him, making sure he didn't fall. "But I'll at least give you privacy while you're undressing."
And with that, she walked back over to the closet and flashed Ulquiorra a grin before she opened the door, ultimately blocking her view from him minus a few inches between the wall and the edge of the door. And Kairi just wasn't the peeking-tom (or peeking-sally in this case) type, so he didn't need to worry about that. "C'mon, Neffe. Help me sort out a few things on this shelf while Mr. Shypants over there gets undressed," she told the kitten loud enough for Ulquiorra to hear the teasing tone in her voice as she set him on one of the shelves.
Yeah, she'd picked up a few nicknames from Rikku. No harm in that, right?
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"Al...alright," Ulquiorra huffed after her teasing remark to the cat got him to his senses. He guessed he could trust her. She wasn't going to look, and she wasn't going to try to kill him when his guard was down (which was another reason he didn't feel completely safe the time that he had bathed with Grimmjow). He guessed that he would be fine.
He pulled his pants the rest of the way from his thin frame, and then repeated the process with his boxers. He fiddled with the shower, turned it on, adjusted it, and stepped inside. He made sure the water wasn't too hot; his back had already hurt just from the movement of his skin when he pulled down his pants. It still stung. He washed the rest of his body, paying close attention to the wound at his collar. Grimmjow had gotten him in the same place on his left where he had gotten him the time in the park. It had just finished healing, too. He might have to call Chase when it came to that one.
Once he was done, he turned his back to the water, shutting his eyes tightly. It stung. A lot. The water beneath him ran red. But he stood there until it no longer did. He would need some serious attention on his back. The scratches were rather deep. At least none of them had caught his spine, of he knew Grimmjow's claws would have snapped it in half. He hoped he wouldn't have to explain what inflicted the wounds. He knew Grimmjow's other form was quite secret. He had already given away Kairi's secret about telling Ulquiorra what Grimmjow had said; he didn't need another reason for Grimmjow to try to kill Kairi.
He turned off the water when he felt that he had cleaned the wound enough. Kairi would have to wash it the rest of the way. It would be rather gruesome, but there was no way Ulquiorra could do it himself due to the position. Ulquiorra peeked out the shower curtains, searching for a towel to at least dry his hair and wrap around his waist. Drying his back or his chest was rather out of the question. He spotted one, and reached for it.
"Is it alright if I use this towel here?" he asked, making sure only half of his body was visible from where Kairi was if she decided to look and check the towel.
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The redhead examined a few bottles that she had, and picked the one with the most strength, setting it down on the counter as she slid the mirror back. She looked at herself in the mirror again, and winced. She really did look horrible. Was fear, nausea, and worry all supposed to do that to someone? She reached for one of the washcloths she had pulled out earlier and was about to turn on the sink when she remembered that, of course, Ulquiorra was in the shower.
The teen sighed again and reached her hand out to the kittens, watching as they both rubbed against her hand and purred. Smiling, Kairi picked up both of the kittens, moved a few things out of the way on the counter and jumped high enough to sit on the counter as she waited. She really had no clue what she was going to do if something happened to Reine and Neffe. They were the things that kept her happy, she realized, and even if she lost one of them, she knew she'd be devastated.
Before she knew it, she heard Ulquiorra turning the water off. Kairi tried to hide her grin as she kept her head looking down at the kittens, when she heard his voice, she looked up with a smile. "Of course. That's why I got them, silly," she said as she tossed one of the towels that was draped over the sink counter to him. She laughed as she looked down at Reine. "Isn't that right, Reine? You watched me get those towels just for Mr. Shypants, didn't you?"
Kairi laughed again when Reine actually meowed at her and turned her head to Ulquiorra. "What did I tell you?"
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He caught the towel and dried off the lower part of his body, and then most of his chest, and then his hair. He repeated the process once or twice before wrapping the towel around his waist. He peeked out of the curtain again.
"What now?" he asked, flatly. He pushed aside the curtains and sat on the edge of the tub like he had been before. He didn't know what Kairi wanted him to do next, or if she even knew what she was doing in the first place. He really had an urge to call Chase.
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The redhead looked him over as he sat down on the edge of the bathtub and she jumped off the counter, kittens in hand. She set them on the floor next to Ulquiorra in case he wanted to pick one of them up, and then turned away. What to do next?
Tilting her head to the side a little as she turned back around and grabbing one of the washcloths, she pursed her lips in thought. "Were you able to get at your back any or do I have to clean that up for you?"
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"I cannot reach back there...so whatever the shower did when I faced that way was the best I could do..." He frowned. "Can you show me what you have? I will dress this wound on my shoulder, and then you can do the same for my back..." Ulquiorra could do minor injuries himself, and he had watched Chase when it came to his shoulder wound. He made a mental note to go see the doctor when time allowed for him to trek back into Monacello territory.
"You need to finish cleaning my back, put whatever antiseptic you have on it...make sure it is dry and then wrap it." He tone bored on annoyed, but whatever tone it had quickly vanished. The last thing he wanted to do was take out his anger on Kairi. She was helping him after all. The last thing he needed was to alienate the last person in this damn city that meant anything.
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And one thing she knew was to not put something like antiseptic directly on a wound. Especially a wound like that.
Once the water was the right temperature, she soaked the washcloth, then squeezed it out. Turning towards Ulquiorra, she leaned over him to reach for her bar of soap and lathered up the washcloth just enough to get the job done.
"All right," Kairi told him as she set the soap back down. "I'll finish cleaning your back while you take care of your shoulder." She gently turned Ulquiorra by his good shoulder so that she could sit on the edge of the bathtub and get his back. She grabbed a towel and pressed it just underneath the bottom of wound (to keep the water and anything else from dripping on the floor), then folded one of her legs underneath her and used her knee to keep the towel pressed against his back.
She started at the top, cleaning it as gently as she possibly could. After a moment, she spoke again. "I didn't upset you with my teasing earlier, did I? I mean... usually when I tease people, it's sort of my way of letting them know I care about them." Kairi let out a soft sigh against the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."
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Once it was dry enough for his tastes, he started to wrap it the best he could and tape it down with the medical tape. It had to be tight. He ended up wrapping most of his left shoulder to cover the wound. At least it would be a little better off now. He could deal with the discomfort for now. It wasn't like the Monacello family doctor could take away the pain. There was only so much anyone could do. The physical and emotional pain was still suffocating.
Ulquiorra moved along with Kairi, letting her have full access to his back. He gritted his teeth through his own work and hers. "It wasn't you..." He said, through those gritted teeth. "I have failed enough these past few days. I would simply appreciate you did not make it any worse." He didn't want to explain about the day of Grimmjow's birthday. The last thing he wanted to do was relive it and tell Kairi how hungry he had been for some kind of attention, some kind of connection, or how hurt he was that he never got to express any of it how he should have.
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She paused and smiled a little, leaning to the side a little so she could see his face. "If it helps, I like you just the way you are. It doesn't matter what you've done in the past, whether it's been the past few days or the past few years." She leaned forward and, making sure not to touch his back as she did so, kissed his cheek like she did after their first meeting. Except there might've been a bit more behind it than being a friendly gesture. But that was still to be debated in her own heart.
With her smile still on her lips, Kairi leaned back and continued cleaning Ulquiorra's back. She was silent for a few more moments before she shifted slightly, feeling her leg get numb, only to end up losing her balance. Gasping, she quickly reached out her hand to catch herself on the wall of the shower, though she was slipping from it still being wet. She reached behind her with her other hand to grasp at the bit of wall that was an outward corner and managed to pull herself back into an upright position, laughing a bit at herself.
The redhead leaned her head back against the corner she had just pulled herself up by, and grinned. "Before you ask, yes, I'm fine." She lifted her head back up and leaned over to run the water in the bathtub, just warm enough so she could wet the washcloth again. She made sure she had a firm grip on the faucet as she was leaned over and running the washcloth under the water, then turning it off and wringing out the cloth. Kairi lathered it up with the soap again and went back to cleaning his back. "I'll admit it," she started, a smile still on her lips and evident in her voice. "I can be a little clumsy sometimes."
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Ulquiorra frowned at her words. What did he say to that? She had no idea what all those things were. She knew that he killed people for his profession, but nothing beyond that. He was a high ranking member of the mafia because of how he made people disappear. he had even failed at his job. He had been unable to make Grimmjow disappear, even after Grimmjow had hurt him so much. He couldn't even do that job, the only thing he could do with any certainty. He needed to pull himself together. For now he would just have to distance himself and try to get everything back on track. He would go back to the family stronger than he had ever been.
He had to or there was no point in any of it.
He watched her, quite confused as she slipped. He reached out to catch her, but she had already caught herself. He gave her a look. "You should be more careful...we do not need any more injuries on our hands," he said, warningly. He had finished wrapping his shoulder and now just rested his hands on the edge of the tub. He closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth. He just wanted her to be done with cleaning. It stung a lot. But when he thought about all the damage he had done to Grimmjow, he felt as though he deserved whatever he got. he was a liar now, wasn't he? A two-timer, right? A worthless dog. It was all he had ever been....right?
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