For: Yami

Reason: Christmas Gift

From: Saphira112

Recommended listening: Tell Me Now (What You See) by Moya Brannen (This song goes so well with Tsuzuki and Hisoka and especially for this! It is perfect for this! If you do not have it, I can send it to you by e-mail)

"They say flowers tell all emotions, but which flowers can express the deepest of feelings towards a love that does not understand or has no received such gift before?" -Me

Secret Admirer

One-Shot

It was a normal workday in Ju-Oh-Cho, or at least, as normal as could be expected. Wakaba baked Tsuzuki usual sweets in the morning, perking him up while Watari blew up his lab once again at ten a.m., Tatsumi was busy cutting off Terazuma's pay and Konoe was drunk, chasing around the Gushoshin twins, thinking they could be eaten. This always happened exactly twelve days before Christmas, so it was pretty regular in their eyes. However, today was not as regular as they thought.

As soon as Kurosaki Hisoka entered his shared office with his partner, Tsuzuki Asato, he was shocked to see something on his desk for him. The odd thing about it was that it was a very small bouquet of flowers. But these weren't just any flowers. Hisoka had looked up and memorized all the meanings of flowers when he was bored a few weeks back, so he practically knew what each flower in the world meant.

The bouquet on his desk was a mixture of red and white Carnations with a single blue Camellia in the middle of it. It was wrapped up in green foil and clear plastic wrap, tied with a pink ribbon and had a damp washcloth at the bottom to keep the flowers alive and healthy.

Hisoka walked over and gently picked up the bundle of flowers, and although no one was in the room, he turned a light shade of pink as he remembered the meanings of the three flowers. The red Carnation meant that whoever sent these, their heart ached for him. The white Carnation meant innocence and pure love while the single blue Camellia meant that the sender had a flame in their heart for him.

Who would send these flowers to him? And why would they? Was it a mistake and had they been delivered to him by accident? Whatever the reason, he had to hide the flowers before anyone saw him with them…

"Heya, Hisoka!"

A cheery presence made itself known in the doorway and Hisoka whirled around, forgetting about the flowers in his hands, turning red as he as met with amused and curious childish purple eyes.

"Ah, Hisoka! Where did you get those?" Tsuzuki asked, bouncing up to him in his inu form, curiosity written all over his face.

Hisoka turned redder and said, "Someone gave them to me, but I don't know who."

Tsuzuki returned to normal, standing up straight and looked with suspicion on his face, "What do these flowers mean, anyway?"

If possible, Hisoka turned redder, beautiful shades of ruby coloring his cheeks. "I-I-innocence."

"Is that all?" Tsuzuki questioned. It was now Hisoka's turn to get suspicious and he peered at the amethyst-eyed shinigami, narrowing his own green eyes. "What do you mean by that? How do you know there are more meanings?"

Tsuzuki put his hands up defensively, face projecting innocence and a childish look. "I was just asking! No need to get uptight!"

"Fine," Hisoka grumbled, "Whatever."

He threw the bouquet back on his desk, where it landed with a soft thunk, as he walked out of the room, hands in his pockets.

"Hey, Hisoka, where are you going?" Tsuzuki asked, picking up the bouquet carefully, as they were now somewhat damaged. Without looking over his shoulder, Hisoka called back, "Library."

With that being said, he left the room, leaving behind a hurt bundle of flowers and a stunned, confused shinigami behind.

Hisoka flipped through one of the books in the library, searching for the familiar white and red flowers as well as how the language of flowers had been created. He found the page and quickly read the small passage on the history of the language of flowers.

"Giving flowers, whatever the occasion, signifies your feelings and your feelings towards the person you are giving the flowers to. Flowers can also indicate the person's character. When you are giving someone flowers you should consider what the flowers mean. The exotic language of flowers evolved in the harems of Turkey, where people used to wile away the time by guessing the meanings attached to each individual flower. It was also employed as a secret communication between lovers. During the Victorian era, each flower was given a particular significance. The Victorians loved their flowers and refined the language of flowers, even sending subtle messages via the arrangement of a vase or a bouquet of flowers. This sending of messages through lovely scented flowers was referred to as a 'Persian Selam'. In Victorian times, a man would pick a flower with a specific meaning to convey his feelings for a lady. Then, flower meanings were more commonly understood, as it was improper to always convey your feelings verbally." (1)

Hisoka sighed, snapping the book shut, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. So much confusion and disagreement rose against that small passage within his mind and he began to wonder whether it was safe to accept the flowers from whoever it was or not. He shuddered as the sickening thought of them being delivered by someone like Muraki came to mind.

Sighing once more, Hisoka placed the book on the small able and walked out of the library, heading back to his office to complete his half of the paperwork. It was going to be a long day.

-XXX-

The second day, when Hisoka walked into the office, he found yet another bouquet of flowers waiting for him, but these were different, much to his surprise. It was an odd and disorganized combination, but it still held meaning and he still flushed when he saw them.

The bundle was an uncharacterized combination of Daffodils, Freesias, and Hibiscus flowers, wrapped once more in green foil and clear wrapping with a pink ribbon and a dampened washcloth at the bottom. He picked up the disgruntling combo, mind searching for the meanings and again, Hisoka blushed deeply. Daffodils meant that the sender believed he was the only one. Freesia told of trust and friendship while the Hibiscus said he was of delicate beauty, not to be tampered with ever.

He tied to sense spiritual trace residue that could have been left on the group of plants, but he found so little, he could not pick up any familiarity within them. Who would care so much to give him these beautiful flowers? Who was the secret admirer?

"Wow, Bon, where did you get those?" asked Watari as he stood in the doorway, 003 on his shoulder while the honey eyes regarded him with interest. Hisoka sighed, dropping the bouquet back on his desk, in the same manner as yesterday before he turned around, leaning against the desk, arms crossed.

"I really wouldn't know," he answered truthfully. "I come in to do work and instead I find these blasted things waiting for me."

"Blasted things?" Watari inquired as he reached behind Hisoka and picked up the bundle, examining it for a moment before glancing back up at the cross teen.

"But Bon, these are beautiful," he said, causing the said shinigami to color again. "Even as a disorganized combination, they're still very pretty. So you don't know who gave them to you?"

Hisoka shook his head, eyeing the flowers in the scientist's hands as he thought of all the possible people to do such a thing for him. Tsuzuki probably had, but he had seemed too surprised to see them the day before and did not seem to know a thing about them. Besides, his pay was already in the negatives, thus he wouldn't have any way to afford them.

On the other hand, there were Saya and Yuma, who always wanted to flirt with him and dress him up in Pink house accessories. They might be pulling this on him as a cruel joke. However, if they were doing just that, they would have been dumb enough to leave their spiritual trace residue on the flowers themselves, thus he would have sensed it earlier. But there was none. Therefore, the two Hokkaido girls couldn't have done it.

"Well, good luck with your admirer," Watari said, handing the group of flowers back to the empath before waving on his way out of the office, leaving behind a blushing teen and the jumbled flowers.

-XXX-

The third day, Hisoka hoped he would not get another bouquet of flowers, but when he walked in, his hopes were shattered as he spotted the familiar green foil and clear plastic with pink ribbons. Though he admired the color scheme, he could not help but feel annoyance at the coming of these bundles. He noticed that this one was smaller than the rest, and shorter in stem length, but from where he was standing, he could not see what flowers they were.

He walked over to his desk and picked up the bundle, turning it over, blinking in mild surprise at what he saw as he felt blood rush to color his entire face and his heart thump in shock. It was a small bouquet of mixed white Hyacinths with white, calla, and tiger lilies along with a single Jonquil right smack in the middle. He could feel his chest compress with emotion and his eyes softened as he fingered the delicate petals, marveling their softness.

White Hyacinths meant that the sender would always pray for him. The white lilies said that he was purity and had his youthful innocence. The calla lilies said he was full of beauty as the tiger lilies mirrored his pride. The one that made him feel something was the single Jonquil in the middle, seemingly outstripping the rest of the group, yet fitting in perfect, despite the different shape. A Jonquil was silently asking him to love the sender of the flowers in return as the sender of such a gift was projecting sympathy and desire to him. Not desire for an evil need, but an innocent desire.

Letting out a content sigh, he quickly teleported to his apartment and looked for a vase. He found a small clear one and filled with water before he carefully untied the pink ribbon and removed the damp washcloth. He placed the flowers in the vase and watched as the green foil, as well as the plastic wrapping, fell away, revealing the shortness of the stems. The vase was perfect.

Allowing a ghost of a smile to cross Hisoka's features, he transported himself back to office and seated himself back at his desk. For some reason, those flowers gave him a warm feeling inside.

-XXX-

Unsurprisingly, another bundle of flowers came to Hisoka's desk the fourth day, the same time he walked in to work. It was wrapped in the same green foil and plastic, the same pink ribbon and cloth, but this time, it as something hat made Hisoka want to cry.

The groups of flowers were all the same type of flower, yet at the so many different colors, he couldn't help but run his fingers across the velvety petals. They were roses, mature bloomed roses. Red, deep pink, light pink that were all long stemmed. The amazing thing to Hisoka was that the sender had worked his/her magic on him once again and had placed a single flower of its kind in the middle. A white rose. He sniffed the roses for a moment, allowing the scent to fill him up and allow his mind to wander.

Red roses meant love and passion, that's on that everyone knew. The deep pink roses meant the sender was thanking him, but for what, he didn't know. The light pink was admiration for him, but again, he didn't know what it was about himself that his sender would admire so much about. The white rose was his favorite, however. The white rose, if he remembered correctly, meant that he was innocent and pure, untainted and a heavenly being. The fact that they were all long stemmed stated that the sender would always remember him should something happen. Also, the fact that they were mature bloomed roses mean that the sender was grateful to him. And finally, the fact that they were all together in one package meant that he was everything to admirer, no matter who he was or how he acted.

But why? Why would someone feel this way for him? He did not think he as worth this much, surely he wasn't. Yet, the flowers told him different as he sniffed them again, hesitantly and curiously, like a child when he hadn't ever seen anything like it before in his life. In truth, no gift like his had ever been given to him, as his parents had treated him so badly, so it was foreign feeling rising within the empath.

He delicately placed the flowers on his desk, marveling the way each seemed to shine in the sun. He was staring at them for so long, he did not hear Wakaba come into the office, calling his name. It was only when she tapped his shoulder that he whirled around in surprise, wondering how he hadn't sensed her before.

Wakaba was smiling and she spotted the roses, she let out gasp of both surprise and delight. "Hisoka-kun, who gave you those?"

Hisoka shrugged and glanced back at the bouquet. "I'm not sure. There's no card on them or anything."

Wakaba fingered the flowers innocently before drawing her hand back, smile spreading with happiness before she said, "Say, haven't you been getting these for a few days, now?"

Hisoka colored slightly and nodded. Wakaba giggled and then said, "Well, guess it must be someone who really loves you, to be sending you flowers everyday. It's so sweet!"

"But who would want to send these to me?" Hisoka asked the miko, cocking his head slightly and eyeing the roses again. "It just doesn't seem like I'm worth it."

"Oh, Hisoka, hush! That's nonsense!" Wakaba exclaimed, frowning a bit. "You are certainly worth these gifts and better yet, you're worth of whoever sent them to you! Don't you see that white rose? It means that you're worthy of whoever sent them and they're worthy of you! Didn't you remember that?"

"Well, I… uh…" Hisoka stammered, blushing furiously. He cursed his blushing reflex as Wakaba stared at him before sighing again, pulling up her smile after a moment of silence.

"Well, I better go see if Hajime is done with his paperwork yet. He may need a bit of help," she said before bouncing out of the room. Hisoka watched her go before looking back down at the roses. The white rose just seemed to stick out, but its beauty would not have been magnified without the colored roses around it. He was inwardly glad someone felt this way for him, but he did not know who it was who would go out of their way to do something like this. Moreover, it was done daily! He honestly didn't think any admirer should do that, but then again, he had never really done something like this to anyone else, so he may as well accept the flowers brought to him.

"Oh! Hisoka-kun!" Wakaba's voice floated back into the room and he snapped his head up. The said girl came into the room with a vase, smiling. Hisoka thanked her before she departed again. It was a good thing Wakaba had brought him a vase. The only vase at home was being used by the yesterday's bouquet.

-XXX-

He knew he was going to get flowers again on this day, the fifth day, but he had not expected such timid plants to show off such emotion. The same green foil, pink ribbon, and cloth were there, but this was another odd bouquet, even in itself.

He bundle was a mixture of red, variegated, and yellow tulips, perfectly circulated around the middle, which held five Statice, four Stock, and finally, a single Sweet William in the middle. Meanings floated around Hisoka's head and he was able to define each and every one of the flowers in his corn silk hands now, although the Sweet William made him wonder.

Tulips in themselves meant he was a perfect lover. That thought alone made his chest tighten and he wondered if his sender knew anything about his past. The yellow tulips meant that his smile was like sunshine, a ray of light. The variegated tulips meant that he had beautiful eyes in the mind of his admirer. The red tulips were begging him to believe what the other flowers were saying. His eyes traveled to the five Statice, the four Stock and the single Sweet William. The statice meant remembrance while the stock meant that he was a lasting beauty, that he would always be beautiful in the eyes of his sender. The single Sweet William made him wonder, though. It was asking him to give a smile this day, to his sender.

Hisoka frowned at the thought and knew that smiling even with him was not as easy as it seemed. He had never found reason to smile and sometimes it ht his face to try, but his admirer was begging for a smile, even the smallest from him, even the shortest-lived one from him.

He tried smiling that day, but he found no one to smile at. Although all his co-workers that he passed, not one felt like his admirer. Then who was it?

-XXX-

Hisoka did not expect to see Tatsumi in his office the sixth day. The secretary was talking to Tsuzuki, lecturing him when the empath walked in, eyes immediately flitting over to his desk where he saw another group of flowers, this one as small as the one three days previously. Ignoring Tatsumi and Tsuzuki, he walked over to the bouquet sitting comfortably on his wooden table, picking it up and turning it over, eyeing the flowers with interest.

It was small mixture of magenta and yellow zinnia, along with blue and white violets. In the middle, he had no name for the single flower resting there. He remembered the biological name for it, however. It was called, if he was remembering correctly, the Xeranthmum. It meant eternity or immortality. The magenta zinnia meant lasting affection for him as the yellow ones meant daily remembrance of him. The blue violets told him that his sender would always be true and the white violet was asking him to take a chance at happiness with his sender. If he knew who his sender was.

"Kurosaki-kun, what is the meaning of these deliveries to you?" he heard the sapphire-eyed man ask him, tone emotionless and neutral.

Hisoka laced the flowers down, shrugging, and shook his head before turning around and answering, "I would tell you if I knew, Tatsumi-san, but I don't. These just keep turning up for me."

"By whom?" Tatsumi asked as Tsuzuki looked over the shadow master's shoulder, trying to see the flowers when eh could just as easily go around behind him and sit behind Hisoka's desk.

Hisoka shrugged again. "Beats me. If I knew, they would've stopped by now."

Tatsumi adjusted his glasses, sighing. "I see. Well, let's hope it ceases soon. We don't need the office overflowing with such expensive trinkets."

"With all do respect, Tatsumi-san," Hisoka said quietly and calmly. "I do not see how flowers are expensive. Unless of course, you know something I don't"

Tatsumi coughed and moved his glasses again before eyeing Hisoka squarely in the eyes, responding, "I am just saying we do not need to be overwhelmed by these."

Hisoka shrugged, "Sure, whatever."

Tatsumi looked at the teen before glancing back at Tsuzuki and leaving the room. Hisoka picked up the mixture of flowers again, emerald eyes scanning the plants as he stroked one of the petals of the single Xeranthemum. He was too engrossed into his thinking to see his partner smiling at him, liking the innocent look on his face. The amethyst eyes watched him until Hisoka felt it on his back and turned around with an annoyed look. "What is it?"

Tsuzuki put his hands up, getting defensive of himself again. "Nothing, Hisoka, I promise!"

Hisoka rolled his eyes before sighing and shaking his head. Now he had a new question to add on to his old ones: Why was his partner so stupid?

"You want to ask something," Hisoka then said knowingly, staring at his elder partner. Tsuzuki sighed, then pulled up a grin and asked, "What do you want for Christmas?"

Hisoka was a bit startled by the question, having never gotten it before, but he thought about it for a moment. He found he did not really want anything, except…

"I want to know who the sender of these is," he answered finally, holding up the bouquet. Tsuzuki grinned again. "Well, we'll see if they show up Christmas, then!"

Hisoka rolled his eyes, doubting that would happen. "Baka."

-XXX-

It was already set up for him, much to his surprise. When Hisoka walked into his office on the seventh day, he found the flowers already in two separate vases for him, aligned perfectly and he had to admit, it went well with his desk and he book beside it, which he realized was not something he owned.

He sat down at his desk, eyeing the book, which he realized was one he had been searching for, for a long time. Months, in fact. He had set up a search with the Gushoshin twins, but they said they hadn't been able to find it. It was a book by an English author, Anne McCaffrey. Her book was titled The Dragonriders of Pern. This book was the complete collection. It was hard to find such fictional literature in Japan and now here it was, staring at him in the face, in hardback cover, no less.

He glanced up from the book to the flowers in the first vase and saw that they were the same flower, all around. They were Primroses, to be precise, only two different kinds, yet they looked so much alike. There were Thrum Primroses and Pin Primroses, both having the same meaning: His admirer could not live without him.

Hisoka's heart skipped a beat as he tried to think of who his admirer could be. Why was it so difficult to figure it out? It shouldn't have been this hard. He glanced at the second vase, seeing that it was really a bowl, clear as water filled to a certain rim with the said liquid. Inside, there were water lilies floating around slowly. They reflected purity of his heart. He reached out tentatively and touched one, being gentle as he cupped his hand under it and lifting one out from the water, making sure that none of the water got onto the polished wood of his desk.

He kept his hands hovering over the bowl, allowing the water to seep through his fingers and drip back into the flower holder. It was such a small thing and fragile as well. With the slightest wrong movement, the flower could be harmed, or worse, destroyed. With such a simple action… just like a butterfly with its wings clipped. The thought saddened Hisoka as he slowly placed the lily back into the water.

After work, he transported the vase and bowl to his apartment, placing the lilies on the counter in his bathroom and the vase of primroses on a small stand by the door. He knew that these flowers would last a while, so soon, his apartment would smell of each flower's meaning. He wondered if he would ever figure out who exactly his admirer was. It could be anyone.

-XXX-

Gardenia. That was the type of flower bouquet waiting for him on the eighth day, set in a vase with a red ribbon around the rim of the clear water holder. The beautiful white flower bundle reminded Hisoka of the still blooming white rose back at his place, hidden deep within the flowing colors of the other roses around it.

Hisoka sniffed the Gardenia buds and let out a sigh of content. They smelled like an incense he had been alerted of before, but he couldn't quite place it. The Gardenia flower meant secret love and that he was lovely, considered adorable. The thought of someone calling him adorable made his cheeks flame. Only Tsuzuki did that to him.

Hisoka snapped his eyes open. Was it possible that Tsuzuki was really doing this? No, he would've sensed it. Tsuzuki seemed innocently clueless of the entire situation, not that he had a good attention span, but still… playing it along this much, there was absolutely no way he could ever think of pulling this off. Even Terazuma had a better chance of doing it, if it acme to doing it intellectually.

"Oi, Kurosaki."

Well, speak of the devil. Hisoka turned around and his eyes set onto ones that of the former police detective's, unwavering and unhesitating.

"You need something?" asked Hisoka.

The other shinigami shrugged, "You seen Kannuki around?"

Hisoka shook his head. "I just got here. If I see her, then I'll tell you."

Terazuma huffed. "Okay, fine, whatever. By the way, who keeps sending you that crap?"

Hisoka was slightly offended by the word used to describe his gifts, but bit back a retort as he glanced back at the Gardenias on his desk and shrugged before turning around, eyes et into a light glare. "Why is everyone asking that when I clearly have no idea?"

"Just wondered. Not that it matters, anyway."

And with that, Terazuma stalked off, leaving a slightly fuming, agitated and at the same time, relieved Hisoka. He fingered the white petal again, realizing that he rather liked the feel of the white roses.

-XXX-

Hydrangea. A small cluster of pink flowers within itself was waiting for the empath on the ninth day in the row of flowers. He wondered if it was ever going to stop. His sender was teasing him; he could feel it in his gut that that was the case.

The plant gave of a small, but rich scent and sniffing it brought back its meaning: It was a thank you for understanding. But what was he supposed to understand? Hiding out and teasing him? Accepting the gifts given to him? What was to be understood and kept hidden from him?

Sighing, Hisoka began to fill out paperwork, which ended quickly after only fifteen minutes, as cases had been slow the past week and a half. He opened his new book and began to read again, glancing up a few times to eye the flower cluster, wondering how it was possible to keep getting all these flowers from all over the world. Japan did not carry all these flowers and to find them in other countries, to ship them, and keep them this alive and healthy, it would take a lot of effort. Who was sticking their neck out for him?

-XXX-

The tenth day was a double delivery again. The first was wrapped up as the first few had been, with green foil and plastic wrapping, the pink ribbon and cloth. They were a mix of red and yellow poppies while the other one, already in a vase with a pink ribbon tied to the rim, was a bundle of Yarrow, something he did not know could even com here, even if the said flower could resist dangers like soil erosion.

The red poppies signified pleasure while the yellow ones stated success, but the reason for such a thing eluded Hisoka. The yarrow meant healing. The meaning made Hisoka's heart flutter as he sniffed the yarrow, declaring silently he liked it more than the poppies. The red ones scared him a bit, but he knew his admirer was not trying to scare him. He could sense that much within the flowers themselves.

He decided to lose the poppies and keep the yarrow, considering he was running out of room in his small apartment, so he threw away the poppies, despite their beauty and placed the yarrow bouquet in his room, on a shelf by his bed. The roses were by his bed as well, closer than the yarrow. Having both bouquets in the same room felt comforting and calming, soothing out his stressed mind and releasing the tensions in his muscles, relaxing him completely.

He began to think once more on whom it was who had planned this out, and twelve days before Christmas no doubt! Were they simple Christmas gifts for him? He had already gotten gifts for everyone at work ahead of time, although he did not celebrate Christmas often with them. Perhaps he could figure it out tomorrow.

-XXX-

The eleventh day had come and there were yet more flowers waiting for him, though these ones were more confusing than any of the ones before them. They were wrapped Phlox flowers, their meaning being that of "our souls are united". Who was he to unite with? Who could love him so much as to go and unite them from afar?

Tapping his pencil against his desk and listening to the annoying sound of his partner Tsuzuki eating cake at a quick pace, he stared at the Phlox, allowing his lips top set into a pout as he could not think of who it was who could have been patient and caring to send him these. Although it was flattering and kind, he could not help feel a surge of annoyance, as to getting no card or note with them to help him hint whoever it was.

He looked over at his half eating, half working partner and thought about it for a minute. Whenever it came to Hisoka's safety, Tsuzuki would put a lot more effort to protect him than to others. Whenever it came to came to making him lighten up, Tsuzuki was the only one to do it for him. Did Hisoka dare to think that it was his own partner who sent him these gifts? It would make more sense, yet something told him otherwise, though why, he didn't know.

But something inside Hisoka wanted to believe that they were from Tsuzuki. The mere thought made his heart skip a beat and he tried to think of the possibility. He shook his head, mentally correcting himself. It as possible, but not as likely. Hisoka wished he could defeat the odds.

-XXX-

"Merry Christmas!"

The sound of every co-worker shouting the greeting down the hall spread cheer through the doors faster than you could say the sentence five times fast. The giant pine tree in the middle of the main room was stacked high with presents for all the Shokan Division and the stockings mysteriously put there by a ghost were stuffed to the rim, some overflowing and spilling to the floor.

Hisoka had not received any flowers today, which somewhat disappointed him. When he walked in, his desk was bare, not a flower to be found. He wondered if his secret admirer had given up on him, which was highly possible and likely. To think it made his heart hurt, though he didn't know why. However, he did spot a small gold box wrapped and waiting for him.

He walked over to his desk and picked it up. It was fairly light and made no sound when he shook it. He carefully took off the gold wrapping, staring at what lay beyond that. The box itself was black velvet, shut with a key that was attacked to the front of it with a simple sticker of an orange blossom. Meanings came back to him and he realized the orange blossom was saying that he was pure and innocent again, just like the others. No one had signed his or her name onto the small gift, so Hisoka freed the key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it. The top opened with as small snap.

Inside the small black box, there was a necklace. It was a leather thon with a silver clasp, connecting the pendant that was molded from purple fimo clay into the shape of a rose, tinted with indigo to give off a blue touch. Hisoka gently ran his hands across it, noting the soft, yet firm texture of the pendant. The blue rose meant mystery. Mysterious admirer seemed more like it. Hisoka gently took out the necklace and unclipped it, throwing it around his neck and fastening it tightly. He hid the flower inside his orange shirt so no one would criticize.

He headed out to the main room, seeing everyone there waiting for him. He felt a bit guilty for holding everyone up, but everyone shrugged it off, said it was nothing, before attacking his or her stockings. Hisoka watched a moment, before glancing out the window, seeing frost collecting on the edges of it, although the sakura trees were unaffected by the chilly white crystals. It made him wonder what power the trees had against all weather.

"Here, Hisoka!"

Suddenly, he saw his stocking dangling in front of his face. He glared at the person holding it and was not surprised to see that it was Tsuzuki. He sighed and took the holder, looking inside. There were tiny trinkets inside that almost came to the rim. He was surprised to see his stocking so full, but he opened the trinkets inside all the same.

From his stocking came a few gift cards to bookshops he rather liked in Chijou, a small paperback copy of another one of his favorites, Maximum Ride: School's Out—Forever, and finally, a small journal that had half of the book dedicated to writing while the rest were clear foiled pockets, for scrap booking. He thanked the workers who gave him the gifts before drawing back and fingering his hidden pendant beneath his shirt. It felt like he was touching his heart, for he still did not know who his admirer was. The one thing he wanted, the only thing he asked for, and he never got it.

The day progressed slowly, with the amusement of Tsuzuki gobbling up the sweets given to him and having an eggnog drinking contest with Konoe, Watari, and Terazuma. Saya and Yuma tried to get Hisoka into their gift: a Pink House dress complete with pink and silver necklaces and jewelry. He had been able to dodge them most of the day and refused to anything they wanted, with some help from Wakaba. Hisoka made a mental note to thank her later.

It was mid afternoon now and everyone had opened up all their gifts. Now, they lazed around, talking frequently to others, spreading dying cheer out, toying with their gifts. In Hisoka's case, he was reading his new book, using one of his gift cards as a bookmark. He was just reading the fourth chapter when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to meet warm amethyst eyes, holding caring emotions as the owner of those eyes had his real emotions shielded.

"Hey," Hisoka greeted his partner, eyes looking at him indifferently.

Tsuzuki grinned. "Having fun today?"

Hisoka shrugged. "I suppose."

"You sound like you're missing something today," Tsuzuki said, sitting on the chair's arm, looking down at the younger shinigami. "Care to tell me what it is?"

Hisoka sighed and flicked his gaze away before muttering, "I never found out who it was, the one sending me those flowers. I never found out."

Tsuzuki watched him in silence and a slight pang of sadness. How could it be that hard to figure it out? If Hisoka knew the meanings of every flower, wouldn't he have figured it out by now? It was so damned obvious!

"That's the one thing I wanted today," Hisoka continued absentmindedly. "All I wanted was to find out who it was. I never did."

"Well, day's not over yet," Tsuzuki commented, but Hisoka shrugged it away.

"Doesn't matter. I'll never know at this rate," the teen said as he got up, leaving behind his book on the chair, page bookmarked. Tsuzuki's eyes followed where he went before he let a small sigh and murmured barely audible. Hisoka not quit catching what he had said, stopped and turned around. "What did you say?"

Tsuzuki looked down and shook his head. Hisoka walked back over to him. "Baka, I know you said something. Tell me."

Tsuzuki reached into his hidden pocket in his trench coat before he paused, unsure of what he was doing. Hisoka watched him until the elder shinigami gained his courage again and pulled out...

Hisoka's breath caught in his throat and he instinctively took a step back as the hand extended a single red rose to him, thorns cut off expertly and the bud in full bloom. The one small flower meaning love was being held out to him. Emerald eyes widened at the simple gift before glazed over purple eyes looked up at him with a small, sad smile.

"I-it was… It was y-you!" Hisoka sputtered, anger and sadness welling inside him at the same time. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The sad smile vanished with a frown. "I didn't think you would understand if I told you straightforward, so I wanted something else to do the talking for me. It was cowardly, I know. And it's okay if you don't feel the same, I just thought I'd like you to know…"

He seemed so helpless, sad, as if he knew Hisoka was going to reject him, but all the teen did was stand there, looking at his partner with shock at his confession and inwardly battling his emotions, trying to sort them out. He took a step towards his partner, making up for the one he did backwards, and then one more. He spotted a vase nearby with the exact flower ne needed for this situation: Red Chrysanthemum.

Tsuzuki looked down, waiting for a harsh blow as Hisoka reached over to the vase, taking one of the more in bloom flowers before walking to his partner. The dark chocolate bangs hid the amethyst jewels the emerald ones were searching for. Hisoka knelt down to that he was eye level with his partner, although Tsuzuki did not seem to see him, as his eyes were shut.

His heart beating quickly, Hisoka leaned up, letting his eyes slide close, and gently, hesitantly, pushed his lips to the mouth of the elder's, feeling surprise radiating from the man before him as he sensed his eyes snap open. A moment passed before a small purr escaped Tsuzuki's throat and he angled his head to meet Hisoka's, allowing his eyes to fall closed as well, melting into the warm feeling as he wrapped his arms around the form of his partner, pulling him closer. Hisoka followed suit with no complain, nor breaking the kiss when he felt himself being pulled up off the floor and into Tsuzuki's lap.

When they finally broke the kiss, both eyes slide open in unison, emerald meeting amethyst, amethyst meeting emerald. Without breaking contact, their hands found the others and the flowers were exchanged with no words, corn silk fingers brushing against slightly tanned ones as the rose was given and the Chrysanthemum taken. One hand came up to place itself upon Hisoka's chest, right over his necklace, tracing exactly where the curves were without looking away with the forest eyes.

Hisoka realized then that he still had a gift to give Tsuzuki, although before he didn't think his partner would accept it. Now, his doubts seemed to cease. Looking down shyly, he broke contact with the purple eyes, sending a great deal of confusion through the body of the older shinigami. Reaching into his pocket, Hisoka brought out a small box wrapped in purple wrapping, tied neatly with a blue ribbon.

Wordlessly, Tsuzuki took the package and untied the ribbon, tearing away at the foil, looking down at a box of purple velvet with a small clicker. He pushed the small gold button and it opened without a sound. His breath caught as silver met his eyes. A silver chain with a silver clasp, attaching a beautiful 2 ¼-inch pendant The pendant, just the look of it, made Tsuzuki's heart fly away.

The pendant was divided into two parts: one side was a straight stone he recognized as amethyst while the other side had a stone the same size and length, except it was rose quartz, polished in pink, tied together tightly with a silver binding (2). He looked up at Hisoka, who was looking down with a blush before he smiled, unclipping the end and fastening it around his neck, clipping I back together.

"Thank you, Hisoka," he whispered with a true smile and drew the boy into another embrace, happy enough knowing that the boy hugged him back, but completely overjoyed that he knew his love was reciprocated. "I love you."

He felt the younger nod into his shoulder with a small, barely audible sigh. "I love you, too."

"It is not true when they say flowers and jewelry express all feelings. Feelings can only come from the depths of one's own heart and bestowed upon the one they love." -Me
(1)I did not write that passage on the history of flower meanings. All credit goes to the people who organized this site: http/www(dot)britinfo(dot)net(slash)florists(slash)flowers-meanings(dot)htm

(2) If anyone wants to see the picture, copy and paste this link into your browser and remove the spaces: http:// i79. photobucket. com/ albums/ j135/ Saphira112/ TNtwin- rose- amethyst- silver- custom-. jpg

A/N: And this is done! Whew… what a long one-shot on my behalf. It's over 12 pages on a Word Document! Wow! Anyway… I hope everyone enjoyed this fanfiction! A Christmas gift for my friend, Yami. Feedback is appreciated. Arigato and ja ne for now!

Saphira Nakare Ruakara

P.S. The meanings mentioned earlier in the story are actually true. I did a bit of research for once on the language of flowers! Imagine that… ;) I'm so proud of me! XD

P.P.S. If you want the list I have of these meanings that ahs even more flowers I didn't put into this story, just ask and I'll be happy to send it to you!