Contest Entry - December Heart

"What is it this time, onna?" Ulquiorra Cifer was becoming rather annoyed with the childish antics of the woman he had the responsibility to look after. Every day Orihime Inoue somehow found something to pester or ask the Cuatro Espada about. The day before yesterday, Orihime had bugged him about what day his "birth day" was. (Why do humans celebrate such a useless day? All it symbolizes is another day closer to death, and another pain-filled year of life.) Yesterday she had asked why the moon here in Hueco Mundo was backwards; today she was trying to entertain him with a small box wrapped in shiny green paper and topped with a white ribbon. Ulquiorra couldn't have cared less what that little box contained.
"Ulquiorra-san?" Ulquiorra sighed inaudibly in frustration. How could this woman address him so informally and continuously act so naturally around him?
"What?" He inquired, monotonously.
"Have you ever received a present for Christmas?"
"No, I have not. I see no purpose in giving "presents". Also, there is no point behind this so called "Christmas" that you humans celebrate, onna," Orihime's face sunk to a frown for a split second before returning to her usual, dazzling smile.
"Well, then this will be a first," she joyfully skipped over to where the Arrancar stood and stretched her arms out in front of her, present in hand, offering it to him. Sighing audibly this time, Ulquiorra reluctantly took the present and held it awkwardly in on hand.
"Oh, wait! Don't open it yet!" Without warning, Orihime grabbed Ulquiorra by the sleeve and dragged him across the room to the couch. Ulquiorra felt a jolt inside of him.
Reaching over the arm of the side of the couch, she grabbed a plate on which a tiny piece of cake (that she had been given for desert the night before) was laying.
"Since I sort of lost count of what the date is today, I'm just guessing, but… I think it should be around December 20th. That mean's it's almost Christmas. And since you told me that your birthday was December 1st…" her eyes pointed at the present still resting in the palm of one of the Espada's hands.
"Onna, this is foolishness. Why would you-"
"Just open it!" Orihime's face flushed red. Wondering what could possibly make her blush, Ulquiorra decided to comply and open the small gift.
Ulquiorra noticed how Orihime shifted nervously on the couch a couple of feet away from him.
"What is the matter, onna? Do you not feel well?" Orihime looked up in surprise.
"I'm fine!" she replied too quickly.  Noticing the probing stare Ulquiorra was giving her she finally gave in and answered his questions honestly, "Well, I'm nervous."
"Why?" The Cuatro Espada fired back a split second later.
"Umm… Because I want you to open my present for you… quickly."
Giving the woman a strange stare, he quickly tore the green wrapping paper away, revealing two boxes tied to each other with more white ribbon. One of the boxes was bigger than the other. Untying the ribbon with one swift tug in the right spot, Ulquiorra noticed the bigger box was also considerably heavier than the other box.
Since the smaller box was on top, he reached for it first and opened it. Lying neatly inside was a small bundle of some kind of green plant. It was tied together at the top with a small red ribbon. Ulquiorra stared perplexedly at the bundle.
"Mistletoe," Orihime explained, with an odd tone to her voice that Ulquiorra had never heard before. Nodding in acknowledgement, he went on to the next box, setting the first box next to him, between him and the woman. Quickly opening the second and last box, he raised his eyebrows ever so slightly at the object he was now staring at.
A small heart shaped ornament nestled in bits of white tissue paper caused a strange, unknown reaction deep within Ulquiorra. Something mysterious (to him) was welling up in his chest.
"Merry Christmas," Ulquiorra turned his head at the almost silently uttered words that came from the woman sitting next to him. He had been so caught up with the ornament that he hadn't noticed the woman move slightly closer to him with the plant, which she called "mistletoe", in her hand.
Now Orihime had raised the box slightly above their heads and simultaneously moved even closer to him, until their noses were touching.
Blushing a deep red, she whispered, "You're supposed to kiss the person standing under mistletoe with you."
She had barely finished speaking before she gently pressed her lips to Ulquiorra's.
The Espada's eyes widen in shock. She was brave enough not only to speak comfortably with him, but also to make contact with him, and even kiss him. It did not take long before Ulquiorra felt a warm feeling spreading through his chest. As quickly as she had pressed her lips to his, she pulled them away.
Orihime looked away slightly and moved away from Ulquiorra again. After less than a minute of silence (in which Ulquiorra was just beginning to process exactly what had happened), Orihime stood up.
"Excuse me," she bowed slightly and walked swiftly to the bathroom, where she closed and locked the door behind her, a dreamy smile slowly spreading across her lips.
A baffled Ulquiorra stared at the shut door.
She kissed me…
After a minute he returned his still shocked gaze to the box containing the heart ornament. His all-seeing eyes inspected it and he noticed it was similar to a locket. He reached one of his hands inside the small box and pulled the ornament out, opening it. A small piece of paper fell out of it, which he caught before it landed on the carpet.
Now you have a heart, too… Yours truly, Onna

Five minutes later, Ulquiorra had placed the paper back in the ornament and left Orihime's room. He was walking down the halls of Hueco Mundo with his hands place in his pocked and his usual stoic expression on his face. The only difference (which was completely unnoticeable to the rest of Hueco Mundo) was the he held the gifted heart in one of his hands.