In Another Life

[mistkitt]

Originally posted 1/4/2015

Prompt 2 also ended up being about the Muse brats, but in the high school AU. You’ll notice that M!Hime is always the same, whether she’s with TY!Ulqui at age 21 or with M!Ulqui at age 15. Hot chocolate and a hat store!

~

“How about this one?”

Ulquiorra sighed into his hot green tea. He stood a safe distance away from Orihime and his sister Sarah, who had forced him along on their trip to the Tacoma Mall because he was the only one between the three of them who had a car. “It sounds like it could be fun,” his mother had said in that if-you-don’t-take-them-I’ll-be-heartbroken voice.

“You’re absolutely right, mother. Let’s place bets on how long it’ll take Ms. Inoue to realize Sarah’s in love with her,” he’d replied with an amused smirk.

His real motivation for coming was to buy a few ounces of tea from the tea store. He’d ended up laden with that, a carry out beverage container balancing two cups of hot chocolate, several bags of clothing that weren’t his, plus a Batman coffee mug that Orihime had purchased for him, claiming that it suit him perfectly somehow.

Sarah turned, modeling a beret she’d plucked off of a hat rack. “Nice!” Orihime said, then sighed enviously. “Berets just don’t look good on me. Neither do those long beanies that flop in the back.”

“Really? With all that air in your head?” Ulquiorra muttered, earning him a smack in the stomach.

“Nobody asked you.” She picked up a sun hat, placed it on her head, and made herself look as bored as possible. “Darling, you simply must go to the deli on Broadway while you’re in the city,” she said in an exaggerated old Hollywood voice.

Ulquiorra stared at her over the lid of his cup, a little longer than he meant to. She was beautiful; glamorous, even, like she’d been born for money, but ended up selling herself to get it. Judging by Sarah’s expression, she’d noticed it too. Orihime blinked, looking from Sarah to Ulquiorra and back again. “Geez, it must be awful.” She replaced the sun hat on a rack and tried on a cloche instead. “I think my hair’s too long for this one.”

“No!” said Sarah, recovering. “It’s cute! Isn’t it cute, Ulquiorra?”

Ulquiorra thought it made her look forlorn. “Are you almost done? My hand is cramping from all of these bags.”

“Oooh, his precious hand!” Orihime laughed, looping her arm through Sarah’s and dragging her away. “Come on, let’s go check out the shoes so the poor guy can sit down.”