Theme #1: Alone

Pairings: AIULQUI, GrimmUlqui

Aizen Sousuke had always been alone.

Even when he was a Shinigami residing in Soul Society, surrounded by other Shinigami and people who admired him, he was alone. No one understood him, nor did anyone try – they merely accepted what was right in front of them and did not bother to delve deeper, to understand. One of the people who admired him the most, Momo Hinamori, though she was constantly in his presence, did not understand him, blinded only by what she saw. Even when Ichimaru Gin and Kaname Tousen left Soul Society with him, he felt lonely. And again, even though he now resided at Las Noches with his followers, he still felt lonely.

But this loneliness never really bothered him. He was used to it.

He knew that he was different, and that he would always be alone. That suited him just fine.

Now, however, it seemed that this feeling of loneliness was growing each and every passing day he lived at Las Noches. He did not really understand it at first, but after awhile, he had pinpointed the root of the problem, which came in the form of his Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer.

The first time he met Ulquiorra, he only saw the Arrancar as a tool to be used for war. Ulquiorra was obedient and powerful – he was the perfect subordinate. However, as time passed, he started noticing things other than the Arrancar's obedience and power. He noticed the way Ulquiorra walked with perfect grace. He noticed the way Ulquiorra's uniform hugged his body. He noticed that Ulquiorra's eyes were a deep shade of emerald, and that if one's eyes were sharp enough, one would be able to catch glimpses of emotion that would occasionally flicker in them. He noticed that Ulquiorra's skin was flawless, like porcelain. He noticed how Ulquiorra would purse his lips slightly every time the Arrancar was irritated, and that on rare occasions, the faintest hint of a smile would blossom upon them. He noticed that Ulquiorra was beautiful, and that, like himself, Ulquiorra was lonely.

"A-Aizen-sama..."

"Shh..." Aizen pressed a kiss against the Cuatro's sweaty forehead, rubbing Ulquiorra's hips comfortingly. "Relax."

"Haa..." Ulquiorra panted, digging his nails into Aizen's bare back, trying to counter the pain that he was feeling. "Y-yes, Aizen-sama."

Ulquiorra always did what Aizen told him to. Not once did the Arrancar disobey him. At least, to his knowledge. He had liked that about Ulquiorra. And as he had got to know Ulquiorra more, he found that they had a lot of similar interests. They liked the same books, the same food, they shared the same opinions on a lot of matters, they even liked the same type of tea. Aizen also found that he liked the air of calmness that Ulquiorra carried. Whenever he requested for Ulquiorra's company to simply have a chat, the silences were not uncomfortable. The silences were a nice type of silence. Relaxing. Really, he liked – or dare he say it, loved? – everything about Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra always knew what was on his mind. Ulquiorra understood what he felt. Ulquiorra knew exactly what to do to please his master. Whenever he spent time with Ulquiorra, the loneliness he felt would evaporate. He felt understood. But the more time Aizen spent with Ulquiorra, the more Aizen had come to hate the first thing about Ulquiorra that made him like the Arrancar in the first place.

And that was Ulquiorra's obedience.

All Aizen had to do was to ask, and Ulquiorra would immediately fulfil that wish for him. If he wanted tea, Ulquiorra would prepare tea for him. If he wanted company, Ulquiorra would keep him company. If he wanted breakfast in bed, Ulquiorra would bring it to him. If he wanted someone to go for a walk with him, Ulquiorra would walk with him. Anything he wanted, Ulquiorra would do it for him.

He should be happy to have such an obedient subordinate, shouldn't he?

But he was not.

Because, you see, even though Aizen was the one who held the Arrancar at night; the one who had touched and tasted him; the one whose name Ulquiorra would always cry out; the one whom Ulquiorra would do anything for; the one whom Ulquiorra would give his life for; the one whom Ulquiorra respected; the one who kissed him... Aizen was still alone. Very much so. This fact had hit him hard when he found marks on Ulquiorra's body that were not his work. The earlier happiness that he had felt was immediately dashed away, leaving him once again, with loneliness. Upon interrogation, he had found out that those marks were made by none other than his Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. And that, Ulquiorra was no longer lonely.

The night that he had found that out, Aizen was more rough on Ulquiorra than usual, only stopping once Ulquiorra had passed out. He still remembered the look of exhaustion on the Cuatro's face, the bruises, the blood that stained the bed sheets, and the guilt that plagued him.

Though he was the one Ulquiorra would do anything for should he ask for it, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez did not even need to tell Ulquiorra to do things in order to have him show the Sexta affection.

Grimmjow did not need to tell Ulquiorra to kiss him – they gave each other kisses. Grimmjow did not need to tell Ulquiorra to keep him company – the both of them would seek each other. Grimmjow did not need to tell Ulquiorra to smile for him – a soft smile would always blossom on the pale Arrancar's lips whenever he was in Grimmjow's presence. Grimmjow did not need to tell Ulquiorra to love him – Ulquiorra already loved him, they both loved each other. And Aizen was also willing to bet that Ulquiorra did not shrink away whenever Grimmjow attempted to touch him.

Seeing this had made him realize how overwhelmingly different Ulquiorra's relationships with the both of them were. Grimmjow was his lover. Aizen was... his master.

Aizen just wished, that for once, just once, Ulquiorra would look at him the same way the Cuatro looked at Grimmjow.

He should have known, really, that Ulquiorra was involved with Grimmjow. The looks that those two kept giving each other... How could he have missed them? Or was he simply in denial, unable to accept that their relationship would never be anything more than one between a master and his subordinate?

So, even though he was the one holding Ulquiorra in his arms, Ulquiorra was still out of his reach. Ulquiorra was too far away for him.

Aizen Sousuke had always felt lonely.

"Good night, Ulquiorra..." Aizen said as he brushed raven hair away from emerald eyes. "Sleep well."

But he had never felt more lonely than he did at that very moment.

The Arrancar flinched ever so slightly at his touch. "Good night, Aizen-sama."

And he hated it.

DIOR: My first AiUlqui short story - I'm so happy xD To start off this collection, I chose to go with an AiUlqui theme that we're all familiar with, but with a different take. Since this is a collection of short stories, updates will be random. Genres, ratings and worlds (AU or IU) will vary as well. Each short story will be completely unrelated to each other unless stated, and will be less than 2K words.

Also, REQUESTS ARE OPEN. Feel free to request as many as you want, as long as it's AiUlqui (or UlquiAi, if you like that). I can't promise that I will write each and every request since I'm busy, but I will try. So don't get mad if I don't write your request, k? ^^; Reviews are appreciated.

Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine.