A/N: I recently watched episode 142, the one where Orihime is confronted by Ulquiorra and he's all "Say goodbye to one person. Disobey me and you'll be sorry," and she's all "Nehhh!" I thought the look on Ulquiorra's was adorable, because he doesn't look mad or bored. He looks almost innocent or something (hard to believe, huh?). So I just had to write my first Ulquihime fanfiction. Bear with me, I can occasionally get OOC when I deal with new pairings! Speaking will be "Like this," and thinking will be 'Pretty much the same, only different,'

Disclaimer: Do you see any ownership around here? For Bleach? For name brand candies? No? Neither do I, sadly…

What Is Your Birthday Wish?

The bleached white coat billowed as its owner turned past an empty corner. A pale hand reached for the nearest door, opening it just wide enough to walk inside.

"Aizen-sama," the black haired man bowed deeply as he entered.

"Ulquiorra, hello. I assume you are here to report about our special guest?" Aizen asked, an amused smile on his face.

"Yes, my Lord. The Woman's health is the same, though there is one thing that puzzles me," Ulquiorra straightened up.

"Oh?" Aizen raised an eyebrow.

"The arrancar who comes to clean the restroom brings paper and writing utensils for the Woman. Normally the Woman draws pictures of her friends or animals. But all week the Woman has been drawing balloons, colorful boxes, and humans with cones on their heads. She also seems more excited then usual. I do not know what to make of this," though you couldn't tell by looking at his emerald eyes, Ulquiorra was really quite curious about the whole thing.

"I see. And have you tried asking her about it?" Aizen noticed a change overcome the arrancar. Ulquiorra shifted his weight to his other foot, one of the things he did when he was uncomfortable.

"The Woman…does not answer me,"

"Oh really? Surely even you aren't that cruel to the poor human? No matter. I think I know what's going on. If I'm not mistaken, it is her birthday tomorrow," Aizen chuckled at Ulquiorra's blank face.

"Aizen-sama?" the arrancar stated it like a question.

"In the World of the Living, humans celebrate the day of their birth. Friends and family give gifts, eat sweets, and have a party. You know, it might do Orihime well to have something to look forward to. I'd hate for her mental health to start to decline from depression. Ulquiorra, see to it that her birthday is enjoyable," Aizen ordered.

"As you wish, Aizen-sama," Ulquiorra bowed again before backing out of the room.

'So I must make the Woman's birthday enjoyable? Perhaps I should research the average birthday customs and then plan a course of corresponding events that might entertain her,' he thought, quickening his pace.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

Orihime tossed from side to side. She was awake, mostly, but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. Today was her sixteenth birthday, the one that girls looked forward to most of all. It was a day that was supposed to make you feel like a princess.

But Orihime didn't feel like royalty. She was a prisoner, trapped in a dead world that knew only darkness and hate. A world that couldn't be bothered to find out how special today was. What did she expect though? Even Ulquiorra couldn't figure it out, despite the drawings.

With a sigh Orihime sat up and rubbed the sand from her eyes. She knew her green eyed captor would be coming by sometime with breakfast, and she wanted to be dressed. He never knocked, so she had to be careful.

The first thing Orihime noticed as she stood up was that her room was suddenly a lot more colorful then usual. Bright red and yellow balloons floated near the ceiling while purple and pink bits of paper littered the floor.

A tiny banner hung above the window. Neat, loopy cursive writing spelled out "Happy Birthday Woman" in thick green marker. Her drawings had been taped to the wall.

"Is it to your liking?" a voice asked. Orihime jumped in surprise. Ulquiorra watched her from the doorway, his hands tucked in his pockets.

"Y-You did this? But why?" the orange haired girl gasped.

"Aizen-sama has ordered me to ensure that you enjoy your birthday. To do this I have devised a schedule that will allow you to experience the classic activities one tends to do at such celebrations," turning his back on her for a moment, the arrancar pulled in the usual food tray. Rather then a single plate of ordinary eggs and toast, Orihime saw a stack of pancakes surrounded by bags of candy.

"According to the books I read, it is custom to consume sugars and sweets throughout the entire day. I brought a variety of treats and what you call pancakes for breakfast," Ulquiorra's nose wrinkled at the sight of the unhealthy food. Orihime didn't move.

"Eat, Woman," the arrancar ordered, gesturing at breakfast.

'W-Well, those pancakes do look good…' the said female thought, reaching nervously for a plate. Ulquiorra picked up a fork and transferred three flapjacks to her plate. He sat the last one on his own.

"You're going to eat some too?" Orihime asked, again surprised.

"Unless you wish me not to," the other responded.

"No! I'd be so happy if you ate a pancake!" Orihime managed a small smile and sat down at her small table, just big enough for her and Ulquiorra to sit at during meal times. With more enthusiasm, she stabbed the mushy brown hot cake with her fork and ate a rather large bite.

She nearly gagged. Whatever this pancake was made of, it certainly wasn't something she'd ever eaten before.. Ulquiorra watched her closely.

"Wow Ulquiorra! This is delicious! Did you make them?" Orihime lied, faking a bright smile.

"I did. But you do not like them," he stated.

"No, I really do! See?" she finished off the rest of her pancakes in one bite. Ulquiorra chose not to comment, but rather pick up his fork and eat is pancake.

"You were right, Woman. They do have some taste to them that is not completely repulsive," he spoke quietly after finishing his breakfast. They then sat in silence, staring at each other.

"Um, I guess I can try some of that candy now," Orihime stood up quickly, her cheeks slightly pink from the intensity of his eyes locked with her own.

"I had Yammy pick those up from the World of the Living. I hope they are pleasing," Ulquiorra said, not really sounding like he cared. With a look of delight Orihime grabbed the sweets and brought them back to the table.

"Hershey Kisses, Gummy Worms, Lemon Drops, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and Skittles!" she reached for one bag, changed her mind, nearly grabbed a different one before changing her mind again.

"Which should we eat first?" Orihime wondered out loud, looking at her black haired captor.

"It is your birthday, therefore it is your choice," Ulquiorra replied lifelessly.

"But I can't decide!" Orihime pouted. A small sigh escaped the arrancar's lips. He muttered something about spoiled females before glancing down at the various options.

"Those," he pointed randomly. "Skittles it is! You'll like them; the outside is one flavor, but the inside is a completely different one!" Orihime put a couple in her mouth.

"Come on! Try it!"

"Woman, I do not want to, and I hardly think you will make me,"

"If you won't eat candy with me, can you at least call me by my name? Just for today?" Orihime batted her eyelashes and made a face. Ulquiorra wasn't fooled by the soft look.

"Fine. Inoue Ori-"

"Not my full name. Just Orihime. You can even call me Orihime-chan, if you'd like!" her gray eyes sparkled.

"Instead I think I will try one of these…Skittles," Ulquiorra picked up a green one and studied it for a moment before placing it on his tongue.

"It tastes like watermelon…now strawberry? How?" he questioned, a perplexed expression on his white face.

"That's what makes them so fun to eat!" Orihime didn't mind that he had obviously blown off her previous request. It was nice to see something other then boredom on his face.

"Help yourself; there's plenty to go around!" she pushed a couple more colorful Skittles across the table.

"I only brought this much because I deemed it necessary for you to have something called a 'sweet sixteen'. I read about the concept in several books," Ulquiorra explained, cautiously eating another piece of candy. He wasn't disappointed; the outer flavor dissolved into a different one.

"Huh? You mean a Sweet 16?" Orihime cocked her head.

"That is what I said, Woman,"

"Of course, how silly of me!" the birthday girl couldn't help but giggle. She could tell Ulquiorra was trying the best he could to please her, which only made his blunders all the more charming.

"Are you ready for your gift?" without waiting for an answer, Ulquiorra reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small box, wrapped in sparkly light blue wrapping paper. On top sat a little silver bow.

"I can't accept a gift!" Orihime waved her hands frantically.

"If you do not open it, then you will not enjoy your birthday, and Aizen-sama will not be happy. Besides, most humans are grateful when they receive a gift," he sat the tiny present in front of Orihime.

"I am grateful! Really I am! I just didn't expect to get anything for my birthday this year," looking down at her present, Orihime couldn't help but feel a clash of emotions.

Confusion, because it really was weird for a captor to give a gift to their prisoner.

Happiness, because she loved getting gifts.

Then, there was something else. A part of her already liked the gift, even though the contents were unknown. The only reason she could think of to explain why was that it came from Ulquiorra.

In her mind, she saw him sitting at a desk at who knows what time, carefully wrapping her present with precise movements.

'He must have put so much effort into it, all for me!' she thought, tickled.

"Is something wrong with your hands?" Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow. Orihime shook her head and picked up the blue covered box. She slowly pried the paper away, making sure it didn't rip too much. A velvet red box peeked out from underneath. She opened the box's lid and gasped.

"U-Ulquiorra…!" Orihime felt her mouth hanging open, but all she could do was stare down at the box. Inside there was a brown, shriveled flower. Lying around the plant were half decayed baby spider bodies.

"You have an obsession with dead weeds, correct? I picked one from the Human World. Those little insects were crawling on it. I thought you may enjoy two living things, so I put them all in the box. They appeared more lively in the Human World, it seems," Ulquiorra stared at the box of death briefly, a contemplating look in his eyes, then looked up at Orihime.

"I-I…don't know what to say…" the human girl answered truthfully. It was terrible! But how could she ever tell him that?

"Thank you, Ulquiorra, really. I've never had a birthday like this before!" Orihime bowed her head and flashed him a grin. Ulquiorra stared back at her.

'She claims to have enjoyed her birthday, as was ordered by Aizen-sama. Yet something does not seem right. She is masking some kind of pointless human emotion behind her eyes,' he thought with a frown.

"Would you care for your birthday cake now?" the arrancar man asked, deciding to ignore her lies for now. Even though she was far from hungry, Orihime nodded. She put the lid back on the box and sat it off to the side.

Ulquiorra stood up and walked to the food cart. He fumbled around with an elegant serving dish and came back to the table with a chocolate cake. It looked safe to eat, but…

"Make a wish, woman," Ulquiorra commanded. While Orihime had been eyeing the cake, the said arrancar had placed a few candles on its surface. He lit them with a lighter that mysteriously appeared.

"I don't know what to wish for," Orihime said.

"You could wish for a better birthday. I am not stupid, Woman. I know you have not enjoyed my attempts," Ulquiorra sighed, his brow furrowed. How would he explain this to Aizen?

"Do not insult my intelligence by saying otherwise," he added when Orihime opened her mouth to speak.

"I do not understand why humans act excited to celebrate the day of their birth; it is only one more day closer to death," he mused out loud, not caring if Orihime heard him or not. Ulquiorra realized what he was doing and focused on Orihime once more.

"You are not happy," he stated.

"So tell me, Woman, what is your birthday wish?" Ulquiorra asked. Orihime bit her lip, unsure of what to say.

"My orders are to make you happy today. Tell me what will suffice, and if it is within reason, I shall make it come true,"

"I…I wish…I wish you could understand my feelings," Orihime answered hesitantly, her eyes downcast. Ulquiorra's eyes widened for the briefest of seconds.

"You constantly say that you don't know of human emotions. It would make me happy if could, because then, you would be happy, too," she explained, peering up at the arrancar through her eyelashes.

"I do not see your reasoning. Why should my contentment matter to you?" Ulquiorra questioned.

"Well, we're friends, right?" Orihime sounded unsure. Nothing but silence met her words. The arrancar's hole throbbed slightly but painfully, though he wasn't sure why.

Nor did he know how to respond to such a question. When it seemed the silence would stretch on forever, Orihime leaned forward and blew out the candles on her cake.

"You are an interesting human, Orihime…" Ulquiorra said at last. It took a lot to get him to say her name, as was evident from the look on his face. Orihime's own face broke out into a smile. Without a thought she jumped up and pulled Ulquiorra into a tight embrace.

"Thank you!" she whispered into his ear. The arrancar sat, rigid, in his seat. He didn't hug her back, but he didn't make her let go either. His brain wasn't working quite right and this time, instead of hurting, his hole felt almost as if it was healing, and it was all thanks to Orihime.

'Perhaps…it is possible…for that Woman's wish…to come true, after all…'

A/N: End! Yay! Hopefully this can be deemed a success. I like it, although I wish the ending could have turned out fluffier. Then again, if I did that, it'd be really OOC. By the way, I purposely wrote the ending to make it seem like there was more to come. I'm not promising anything, but you never know if Sayjay-chan's pot of inspiration will kick up a sequel, or maybe even a collection of one shots. And even if I don't, I think this ending sorta leaves some room for imagination on the reader's end. So give me a review, let me know how I'm doing, and hopefully we'll meet again soon!