Greyscale Heart
Ulquiorra is a quiet man with total color blindness. Orihime is a bubbly, outgoing artist looking for a flat-mate. After a series of seemingly Fate-driven events, the two are faced with an ultimatum: live together or risk the chance of expulsion from Espada University. College AU!

A/N: Hahaha, funny story about this... I stopped watching Bleach after the Arrancar Arc XD I loved Ulquiorra/Orihime though, and decided to try my hand at a little story for them. I know there are probably hundreds of College AU's but I hope you enjoy it regardless ^^ Please forgive me for any inaccuracies or OOC-moments; I'll definitely try my best to keep them IC.

Genre: Comedy, Romance, and a bit of Angst

Chapter 1- It Starts With a Fall

They are neighbors. Apartment neighbors, he realizes as he drowns in a flash of light grey. He reflexively grips onto the object (person, he corrects in his head) one arm splayed out against the concrete to cushion their fall. He lets out a hiss of pain when his palm makes contact with the harsh terrain, nearly hitting his head against the iron railing.

The weight on his abdomen shifts, reminding him again that there is a person— a woman— sitting squarely on top of him.

A bright, frantic voice calls out to him, small fingers curling into the lapels of his coat. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you alright? Did you hit your head? Do I need to take you to a hospital—"

He lifts a single hand, emerald eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I'm fine, woman. I would appreciate it if you moved off of me, however."

Blushing, she stumbles to stand up, nearly tripping again in a tangle of long limbs. She straightens her skirt, brushing back a lock of orange hair.

He can only see light grey, of course, wincing at the pain in his hand and eyes. The sun had just begun its morning ascent, leaving a harsh, almost white glare to everything.

"Um... do you want a Band-Aid? Your hand's bleeding." She starts again, reaching out a hand to help him to his feet. He brushes past her, dusting off invisible specks of dirt from his coat and pants. He speaks again, voice sharp and callous, "No. I do not need your concern."

He fishes a pair of keys from his pocket, deciding against going out. He would just spend the rest of the day studying for his philosophy exam (hopefully without his annoying blue-haired roommate) and go out later for groceries.

"W-wait!" The woman calls out.

He reluctantly turns around, jade eyes void of emotion. She stutters a few times before her voice reaches him, fingers fidgeting with the beads of her necklace. "Ah, I-I'm Orihime Inoue."

"Fascinating." He breathes, opening the door. He can already hear the obnoxious blue-haired man now, singing along to some ridiculous rock song.

"I just wanted to know if you—" He slams the door behind himself, not caring for what the annoying woman had to say. He knew they were neighbors; why else would she be going up the steps to the adjacent room, arms laden with heft grocery bags? And that was all he needed to know.

Orihime sighed irritably, almost deciding to knock on the door, but stilled. She had only wanted to ask if he knew someone who was looking for a roommate.

Still... butterflies danced wildly in her stomach. His eyes were the deepest shade of green she had ever seen. For the rumored recluse Ulquiorra Schiffer he didn't seem all that cold and unapproachable. Just... lonely. I wonder if he ever smiles... she thinks, picking up the brown paper bag that had spilled in their collision.

After washing the cut and putting on some antiseptic, the pale youth sits on the sofa. Keeping the T.V off, he brought out his textbook, trying to block out the sound coming from the other room. Grimmjow had his music blaring as usual, singing horribly off key. Eventually, the music faded, replaced by the sound of shuffling feet.

"Hey, Ulqui." A muscular, tanned man said, cerulean eyes trained to the raven-haired youth on the sofa. He had opened the door to his room, leaning casually against the door pane.

"Hmm?" Ulquiorra murmurs out, flipping to the next page of his philosophy textbook. He was too tired to chastise his friend (if anyone asked—and they wouldn't— Grimmjow was an acquaintance who just so happened to live with him) about the irritating nickname. His eyes, instead, flick across the page, absorbing the information.

"Geeze, you could at least look at me when I'm talkin' to ya. Anyway, this is important, so listen up!"

Reluctantly, Ulquiorra turns to look at his roommate. "What? Did your relationship end already—even for you, three days is pretty early."

The cerulean-haired man scoffed. "That's not it and for the record, we've been dating for over two weeks, not three days. I'm leaving Espada University; I only went here to appease my old man. Now with him gone, I'm gonna do some exploring. Take a trip around Europe. Who knows, I might just find what I want to do in life."

"I thought you just wanted to be an unemployed miscreant…" He muttered, returning his gaze to the book. While his outer appearance hadn't betrayed his true feelings, he could feel the worry bubbling in the pit of his stomach. It was the middle of the semester; no one would be transferring in. The silent man had gotten to go to the school due to a scholarship and barely had enough money to afford splitting the rent with Grimmjow. If he didn't find a roommate soon, he would have to leave the prestigious University.

"Well, damn, I expected you to throw a hissy fit or somethin'. I'll be leaving in about a week, so try to find a roommate by then, Ulqui."

"Stop calling me that."

The blue-haired man gave a large grin, "I call ya that cause it pisses you off… Ulqui."

The door to the coffee shop creaked open, revealing a pale, lithe youth. The man took his usual seat near the corner, philosophy book in tow. He had left the safety (and comfort, he added in his head) of his apartment for a late night coffee and a quiet place to study. Grimmjow had begun to practice his drums, despite his chagrin, telling the boy to literally scram if he wanted to get any actual studying done.

Pulling the wool scarf off of his neck, he scanned the nearly empty shop. There was a familiar flash of grey to his right and as he turned slightly, he caught the wide eyes of the woman from earlier that day. She was chatting animatedly with a woman with pitch-black hair, a small grimace on her face.

"Rukia, please move back in! I can't pay for the room by myself; my shifts at the diner are barely holding up. I know that you've transferred to another college, but surely you know someone who would be looking for a roommate!"

The petite woman sighed, patting the girl's shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sorry Orihime, but I've been asking around and everyone on campus seems to be fine. No one wants to move during the semester. I'm really sorry."

The girl let out a small cry, burying her head in her arms. "Why is it so hard to find someone?! At this rate I'll have to transfer out!"

"I'm sure you'll find someone. Have you asked around? Maybe one of your neighbors?"

Orihime sighed. "I tried to—but no one seems interested. I didn't think it would be this hard to find someone…"

The orange-haired woman trailed off, tracing her finger around the edge of the Styrofoam cup in contemplation. Before Rukia could respond, her phone beeped a surprisingly chipper tune. She quickly checked the message and cursed, standing up.

"Sorry, but the boss wants me to work late tonight. We'll figure something out, alright?"

Orihime nodded. "Okay, see you later Rukia."

She waved as the dark-haired woman walked out of the shop. Ulquiorra shifted his gaze back to the textbook, frowning. He was unable to concentrate for some unexplainable reason and glared harder at his textbook, feeling the fluorescents lights over him flicker at random. This action always seemed to cause the monochromatic a headache and he quickly got up to avoid the reaction.

As he picked up his book he felt the room sway due to the sudden flash of light from the overhead lights and groaned as a wave of pain crashed against his brain. Squeezing his eyes shut, he swayed slightly to the right before a woman's voice could warn him.

"Watch out!" She cried just as the man fell against her, knocking both of them to the ground. This time his head hit the tiled floor ungracefully, a moan of pain slipping past his lips. Then there was a burning feeling against his chest, as if hot water had been poured down his shirt.

Opening his eyes, he saw the blurry outline of a grey figure holding an empty Styrofoam cup. She frantically ran to get napkins when the boy sat up in a daze, clutching his aching head. Sure enough, the lights had begun to flicker again and he immediately regretted his decision to go out without his sunglasses.

"…Ah, Ulquiorra, right? Here are some napkins." She handed him a large stack before taking one to help him dab at the liquid. The coffee had bled into his coat, to his displeasure, as he let out a slight click of his tongue and pushed her hands away.

"I can take care of this myself." He said, turning his gaze to his black coat. Unfortunately, since both the color of the coffee and his overcoat were of similar shades, it was becoming difficult for him to distinguish exactly where the coffee had spilt. He dabbed haphazardly at his torso with the napkins, grimacing all the while.

"Are you sure? I know that you're a monochromatic. Let me—"

He slapped her hand away, emerald eyes cold and narrowed. "Do not pity me like some fool. I have been able to function with this handicap for a long time on my own. I don't require nor want your assistance."

The dark-haired man assumed that his bitter tone and glare would be enough to get the infuriating woman away from him. From the two times they had met, she had managed to knock him down twice (well, the second time was technically his fault…) and pour hot coffee on him. If anything, the woman seemed to be a walking disaster.

Deciding that the coat was unsalvageable, Ulquiorra shrugged it off. Just as he pulled the coat off to reveal a simple white shirt, a bell chimed, signaling the arrival of a certain blue-haired idiot.

"Yo, Ulqui. Whatcha doing on the floor, taking your clothes off? I didn't think you were that brash."

The pale youth had to stifle a groan. Of course Grimmjow would mistake the situation for something entirely different. "Use your brain. I wouldn't be disrobing in public unless there was a good reason. Coffee was spilled on me—"

"Yah, yah, whatever you say. Speaking of which, have you found anyone to live with ya? Maybe that girl, since you seem to have no problem taking your clothes off in front of her." Orihime blushed wildly at the statement, immediately standing up.

Grimmjow's gaze turned to the orange-haired woman and a flash of recognition passed his eyes. "Wait, don't tell me you're the chick Ichigo's been talking 'bout. You're Orihime, right? Man, he goes on and on 'bout how nice you are; it feels like I already know ya."

"Grimmjow-san? I knew we were neighbors, but I didn't know you were the person Ichigo told me about. He said you were very... ah, boisterous." She paused, scratching the back of her head nervously. In all honesty, Ichigo hadn't said many nice things about the blue-haired man, but it would be rude to say that after he had given her such positive praise.

"Heh, I'll have to let the kid know I met you in person."

Orihime nodded before her thoughts shifted back to the problem at hand. "Ah, anyway, Grimmjow-san, did you say something about Ulquiorra needing a roommate?"

"Don't talk like I'm not here. I'm color blind, not deaf." He muttered, rising to his feet. He could still feel the remnants of coffee on his skin and furrowed his brow at the disgusting feeling. He would definitely need to take a shower when he got back to the apartment.

Grimmjow chuckled. "Yah, Ulqui over here is gonna have to find someone to live with if he wants to continue going to Espada University. But, he's too shy and awkward to go around and ask."

While the raven-haired man appeared emotionless, his voice betrayed his true feelings. "I am not adverse to social interaction. It is just that my peers seem to have more in common with baskets of fruit than anything over an IQ of forty."

The orange-haired girl let out a giggle, placing her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. "You're pretty funny, Ulquiorra. I'm surprised."

She immediately realized what she was implying and quickly went to explain herself, stuttering out a response. "I-I mean, it's not like I thought you didn't have a sense of humor. You just seem… quiet. Not really the type to joke around." She finished sheepishly, playing with a lock of her hair.

"I'm not a comedian. I was just stating a fact." He murmured, confusion apparent in his jade orbs. He hadn't been trying to be funny in the slightest; perhaps this woman wasn't nearly as insufferable as he previously thought. She was certainly less predicable than the drivel he faced during class.

"Well, I'm not the smartest or anything, but I guess you need a roommate too, ginger?" Grimmjow interrupted, a hint of amusement in his voice.

She huffed at the nickname. "I would prefer to be called Orihime, not ginger! But, I do need a roommate… I was just kind of hoping for that someone to be a girl."

"Ahaha, don't worry, Ulqui's practically asexual! Besides, he's more like a pet then anything else. He usually just sits around and reads. You'll probably forget he's even there!"

"Don't make decisions for me." Ulquiorra retorted, picking up the textbook he had dropped. As he folded the scarf and coat into his arms, he couldn't help but wonder if the fall had caused some brain damage. Because, for a moment, he had actually considered the idea.

Just as he brushed past the pair he felt a small hand bury into the back of his shirt. "Please wait, Ulquiorra-kun!"

Reluctantly, he stopped, lips twisted in a frown. "What do you want? "

"W-well…" She started, fidgeting with her hair, "I could really use a roommate!" She blurted out.

"And?" He responded, slightly exasperated. His tolerance for human interaction was slowly decreasing, from the harsh lights of the café to the near throbbing headache. He wanted nothing more than to return to his apartment.

"I promise that I'll be quite so you can study and you can even have the larger room! All I want to do is stay at Espada Academy so I can become an artist! It's the only thing I've ever been good at! So… please, could you room with me? Just for a little while until I find a more permanent partner?" She looked up at him with her bright grey orbs, tears threatening to form at the edges of her eyes.

It was stupid, really. Absolutely ridiculous, but he couldn't stop himself from nodding. He had never been the type to make brash decisions, but here he was, agreeing to room with a (female) stranger. Orihime immediately brightened, cheeks flushed pink from glee. She seemed shocked, as if she hadn't even taken into account the slight chance that he would agree.

"Yay, you won't regret this Ulqui-kun! I'll be the best roommate ever!" She almost went to hug him but stilled at his sharp glare.

"Do not call me that." He muttered before walking out of the shop, disappearing into the dark.

And that was how Ulquiorra Cifer, the monochromatic recluse and Orihime Inoue, the bubbly, light-hearted artist became roommates.

A/N: So, what do you guys think? Should I continue? I just wanted to mention that it's been +4 years since I've been anything near active in the Bleach fandom. If someone's personality seems wrong then please let me know so I can fix it :3 Also, people with total color blindness usually suffer from photophobia (fear of light), due to the harshness of the shapes and colors. It usually gives them migraines as well, so most try to stay out of the sunlight. I'll explain more about monochromacy later on in the next chap, so fear not :P

Review?

-Isis