A/N: This fanfic was dedicated to my mentor, StrawberryMerry. Oh, I love her work and that was what got me into loving UlquiHime so much! *squee* Thank you, Sensei! w

Sora Cifer is © to StrawberryMerry (on deviantART/FFN); Inoue Orihime and Ulquiorra Cifer are © to Kubo Tite's BLEACH; Story is © to moi~

"Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!" – Albert Einstein

"Hurry, Ulquiorra! We'll be late!"

Orihime called her husband from the living room as she tapped her foot. She was impatiently waited for him to finish dressing. Their son Sora stood by his mother's side, holding her hand as he blinked silently.

"Mama, will the beach people not let us if we're late?" he asked as his silver eyes stared up at the ginger-haired woman.

She smiled and patted his head sweetly. "No, not at all! You don't need to worry about a thing, Sora!"

The small boy nodded as he giggled. When he saw his father walk out of the master bedroom, he rushed to his side. "Are you all ready now, Daddy? We need to go now!"

Ulquiorra stared down at his son and then at his wife who smiled. "You could have waited for me in the car."

His wife merely shrugged happily. "I thought it would be better if we waited for you here. Now we can all go to the car together."

He sighed, his palm pressing to his forehead. Ulquiorra wondered why Orihime would be happy over such simple things. There were still some aspects of her personality that remained a mystery to him. Plus, he was still getting used to life in the world of humans.

Followed by his small family, Ulquiorra made his way to the car and started its engine once everyone was buckled up. Orihime sat in the passenger seat next to him, serving as the navigator, while little Sora was strapped to a car seat in the back.

They reached the highway and Ulquiorra shifted his gaze to Orihime. "So where are we supposed to be going again?"

"The beach," Orihime replied. "It's has lots of sand and lots of water!" She made sure to extend her arms as part of her "description" to him.

Although Ulquiorra didn't seem to impressed. "And what exactly are you supposed to do at the beach? I hope there's more to do rather than look at it."

Orihime nodded. "Of course! You can totally do more than just look at it! There's a lot of fun things you can do at the beach!"

"Like what?"

She tapped her finger to her chin for a few seconds. "Well, you can get a tan, play beach volleyball, collect seashells, swim in the ocean, and other stuff! You can do a lot on the beach!"

This information excited Sora and he found himself jumping in his car seat. "I wanna do all that on the beach, Mama!" he exclaimed. "Daddy, are we there yet?"

"No, Sora, we're not there yet." Ulquiorra knew how hyperactive his son could be and he groaned inwardly.

Today was going to be long…

~ ღ ~

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped on a spot in the sandy parking lot and the Cifer family emptied out onto the beach's warm, golden sand.

Sora jumped around as his parents unloaded the car with beach toys and other equipment. Orihime was equally excited as she took the boy's hand and skipped towards the boardwalk. Ulquiorra silently followed behind.

The beach was perfectly had just the right amount of people and the summer heat was bearable. Ulquiorra and Orihime set up their beach towels, umbrella, and chairs as Sora dug through the bag for his plastic pail and shovel.

"I'm gonna go build a sandcastle!"

Orihime took out the sunscreen and quickly lathered Sora up before sending him off with a kiss on the forehead and a wave. "Have fun, sweetie!" She then started coating the sunscreen on her arms and legs, turning to her husband. "Ulquiorra, we should go for a swim! The water should be great now!"

Her pale husband shook his head as he pulled a book out of the beach bag. "I will stay here and read. Go play with Sora."

She pouted at his reaction and her eyebrows knitted together – she always hated it when he was so…taciturn and aloof. "Come on, Ulquiorra. We came here on a family vacation. You should have fun, too."

"I prefer to stay here," he replied, keeping his nose buried in his book.

His sharp answer frustrated Orihime and she turned away from him, plotting a way to get him involved. Then a lightbulb went on in her head and she smiled to herself.

"Fine, then! I'll leave you here!" She feigned anger as she stood up and removed her outer clothing and dropped them onto the beach towel.

Ulquiorra's jaw almost dropped when he saw Orihime clad in a light blue bikini that showed off her womanly curves.

There was no way he would allow her to walk around the beach where she would obviously be hit on by half-naked men. And being as naïve as she was… It didn't take long for her husband to put down his book and follow behind her.

"You should know better than to wear something as revealing as that," he whispered harshly.

Orihime giggled proudly. "How else was I supposed to get you to come along~?" she questioned innocently. "Besides, I want you to have fun with Sora, too."

He narrowed his eyes at the woman. "Be prepared to pay for that little charade later tonight." His statement made her blush furiously and he held back a smirk. He had gotten his revenge…somewhat.

The two walked over to Sora and helped him build his sandcastle. Then they took a little stroll on the sand lining the beach, letting the stray waters splash against their feet.

Orihime took the chance to splash Ulquiorra with the cold water. He merely stared back at her when she did so.

"Why did you do that?"

She shot him a sweet smile. "Because it's fun~!" Then she splashed him once more, earning her another glare.

"I'd rather not."

He was splashed again by, this time, his son. The toddler giggled at his father's grumpy reaction. "Come on, Daddy. It's fun!"

Ulquiorra was still weary of this "splashing" game but seeing the hopeful smiles on his son and wife's faces, he sighed. No use fighting it any longer. Kneeling down, he threw little waves of water at the boy until he was soaked. "There. Are you happy now, Sora?"

The boy laughed and ran around as the cool seawater spraying him in the face. "Yay! Mama, look! Daddy's splashing me!"

Finally satisfied, Orihime splashed him again, only to get splashed back with bigger waves. She smiled as she tried to run away from Ulquiorra's "waves of doom". But she stopped when she stepped on something hard and winced lightly.

Looking under her foot, she saw a small seashell and squealed as she picked it up. "I found a seashell! Ulquiorra, Sora, look!"

The two males walked over and examined the small shell. Ulquiorra raised a thin eyebrow. "And what do you plan to do with that?" he inquired.

Orihime nudged him lightly in the arm. "I'm gonna keep it, silly! It's like a souvenir from the beach. Plus, they come in all kinds of pretty colors and shapes!" Sora held up his bucket and Orihime placed it gently at the bottom as she took his hand. "Come on! Let's go look for more!"

Hand in hand, the family searched the beach for seashells of any shape, size, or color. The small green pail was overflowing with shells by the end of the day and little Sora was asleep in his mother's arms. They packed up the car and took the road home.

Ulquiorra was definitely exhausted as well as Orihime but at least the ride home was quiet and peaceful. When they reached the house, they hurried inside and shoved all the beach equipment in a nearby closet. After a quick, warm shower, Ulquiorra made his way to the bedroom that he shared with Orihime.

"I hope you haven't forgotten about earlier-"

He was too late. Orihime was strewn across the bed with the toddler in her arms, sleeping soundly. Ulquiorra sighed and shook his head as he tucked them both in. Trying his best to hold back a smile, he watched the peaceful look on their faces.

The ex-Espada shook his head once more before he kissed Orihime on the head, running his thin fingers through her hair. Then he looked down at his son before kissing him on the forehead as well.

"Good night, my loves..."