Hello, my readers! For those of you who aren't familiar with my OC, please check out my story, Steadfast Maiden. Okay, my first attempt at writing lemon. I hope I don't let you down! *crosses fingers*

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Raine. The genius behind the whole Bleach universe is Tite Kubo.

Epilogue

Raine Delacroix walked into the warehouse, the heels of her wedged shoes clacking on the concrete floor. She swept back the wisps that had loosened themselves from her messy French braid and busied herself with removing her shoes. It was then that she felt arms around her waist; she smiled to herself.

"How was yer day?" Shinji asked.

"Oh, all went well." she said with a casual shrug. "They said that my work was interesting…" She finally looked up and her grin stretched from ear to ear. "And they said that they were going to give me a three month trial period, full pay."

"Ya see? And ya said that they wouldn't." he said, leaning in to kiss her. As her lips met his, he held her tight and picked her up, causing her to let out a light giggle. "I'm proud of ya, darlin'." Raine smiled at his little pet name. "I say that calls for a little celebration, don't ya?"

"I would… but I have training tonight. Oh, la, la…" she sighed.

"Actually," he said, "everyone's gonna be gone tonight. Just you and me, darlin'."

"Everyone?"

"Rose got those tickets and he's dragging Love along. Kensei and Mashiro decided this would be a good weekend to go camping. Lisa was talking about some sort of release party for her book- not sure if I believe that… Hachi wanted to visit Tessai, and Hiyori's got a date tonight."

"Hanataro asked her out on a date?"

"Well, it gets her outta the house." Shinji replied. Raine nodded in response and picked up her shoes.

"A few weeks ago, I would have called Lisa and Mashiro crazy for putting me in these shoes, but now I like them."

"Weird, huh?" he asked. Raine looked at him. "Like I said, though, they are a really nice upgrade."

"You would think so." she sighed. Walking up to the room she now shared with him, her mind was already spinning. This would be the first time that she and Shinji had the entire warehouse to themselves. She didn't realize that he was following her into his room. Along the edges of the walls were unopened cardboard boxes, containing Raine's belongings- restored by Kisuke using a new technique that he had developed. She had been extremely grateful to the shopkeeper for his help in selling her apartment.

She changed into regular brown tan pants and a button-up shirt. Since she and Shinji shared a room together, she didn't consider changing in front of him so weird anymore. She turned to him, only to find him right behind her. Gently, he ran a hand along her jaw line and then allowed his fingers to entwine with her rose-red curls, effectively pulling her head to his so to graze his lips across hers…

They were interrupted, though, as Shinji's door was kicked down by an annoyed-looking Hiyori. Shinji prepped himself for a kick to face, but instead found his girlfriend taken from his arms and dragged down the hall by her wrist.

"Hey!" Shinji interjected, "Hiyori, give her back!" He was answered with a good, hard kick to the face.

"You'll get her back as soon as she helps me get ready for my date." she growled at Shinji, who was now on the floor, howling in pain. Raine wanted to help him, but Hiyori pushed her out and down the hall.

"Help you?" Raine asked.

"You're the one that egged him on to do this, aren't you?" Hiyori asked. Raine smiled.

"Guilty." she said. "So what're you wearing tonight?" Hiyori paused and then sighed. Stomping over to her closet, she pulled out a pair of frayed black jeans and a beautiful red blouse with golden flowers embroidered in an arbor pattern. At the foot of her bed was a pair of black flats. Raine held up the shirt, the sleeves of which were long and poufy.

"Hiyori, this is gorgeous." Raine said.

"I think it looks kinda silly, but it's all I really have to wear. Mashiro and Lisa got it and said that I had to have it. Didn't know what I was gonna use it for." She let her hair down out of its pigtails. The long, blonde tresses fell to her shoulders in choppy layers. Raine surveyed the little Visored, and smiled to herself when she realized that Hiyori was completely out of her comfort zone. She got up and grabbed Hiyori's hairbrush. Kneeling on the little girl's bed, she motioned her over and brushed Hiyori's hair.

"France is the country of love, isn't it?" Hiyori asked. Raine giggled. "So give me some advice! What do I say to him?"

"Soyez vous-même." Raine replied with a gentle chuckle.

"What the hell does that mean?" Hiyori snapped.

"In my native tongue, it means that you should merely be yourself."

"Yeah, in case you haven't forgotten, Raine, 'myself' is a temperamental, violent little brat."

"Who on earth called you that?" Raine asked.

"That jerk, Mayuri, while we were there."

"Well he's wrong. You're… proactive. You want to do something, you go for it; you never hesitate. That's what I admire so much about you, Hiyori. You're not afraid to ever speak your mind, even if it hurts people's feelings." Hiyori turned to Raine with an astonished expression, to which Raine replied with a small grin. "That, and I doubt that if you were even half of the things that he called you, that Hanataro would be asking you out on a date. I think it's obvious that he sees the good in you, too, even if you can't Hiyori."

The smallest Visored turned away with a sigh and sat still while the newborn pulled back her long tresses and pinned them back.

"You like him?" Raine asked.

"I don't know…" Hiyori said with some degree of hesitation. "He can't fight worth a damn, and he stumbles over all of his words… but… he looked after me when I was hurt… and he treats me good. That's gotta count for something."

"It does." Raine said with a positive smile.

Raine walked down with Hiyori down into the main living room. Shinji was quite taken aback by the pretty young girl that had been transformed from the tomboyish little monkey that was his best friend.

"Holy… crap…"

"Don't even finish that sentence, idiot." Hiyori said through her teeth.

"Ya look girly." Shinji declared. Raine held Hiyori back by her shoulders.

The trio was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Raine walked over and opened the door. There stood Hanataro, with his hair tied back and out of his face. He had on dark blue jeans and a half-buttoned black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Hiyori's eyes went wide for a moment.

"Go on," Raine said, giving her a little nudge. "You two go have a good time." Hanataro smiled and waved. Hiyori grabbed her bag and flung it over her shoulder. Hanataro looked at her and then at Raine, giving her a hopeful smile.

Shinji sat and read while Raine did what she called 'homework'. All was strangely quiet throughout the house, what with everyone else gone. The sun was beginning to set on this beautiful Saturday evening. Maybe he would enjoy some sort of romantic dinner with Raine…

… or maybe Raine had other plans.

Suddenly, he found his book being pushed down and then looked up at his girlfriend. He froze for what seemed like eternity, not even daring to breathe. Raine was wearing a pretty thin white shift that only touched her upper thighs and left her arms bare. Her blush was pretty closely tinted to the shade of her hair.

"You… you said you liked looking at my legs, right?" she asked bashfully.

Shinji was in a stupor, at loss as to what to say. Here was his seemingly modest, if not at times a little teasing, girlfriend, dressed in almost nothing. Was she trying to kill him?

"Do you not like it?" she asked. She attempted to get up, but then was stopped by a pair of arms that looped around her waist and pulled her back until she was atop his hardened body. She braced her hands on his chest and looked him in the eyes.

"I didn't say that, darlin'." Shinji replied huskily. Roughly, he pulled her into a kiss, robbing Raine of her breath entirely. Their lips moved in almost perfect synchronization with each other. Her hands spanned his clothed chest, up to grip his shoulders to further ground herself. His fingertips traveled down her spine, causing her to shudder against him.

"I'm ready." she breathed against lips. Shinji's eyes met hers.

"Are ya sure, darlin'?" he asked. Raine nodded and then leaned her head against his, ignoring her blush.

"I want you." she breathed.

Shinji grinned his signature smirk. "Then let's not waste anymore time, shall we?" he asked. Before Raine could answer, he pressed his lips to hers and picked her up so to move out of his seat.

Shinji kicked his bedroom door open, his lips never leaving those of his girlfriend's. With another good, swift kick, the door was closed once more. He laid her down carefully on his bed, straddling her legs, watching her blushing face. Their eyes never left one another's, not even when he pulled away, letting a hand travel down the outside of a silken leg. His mouth went down the other side, teasing at the skin with his tongue ring. A low moan escaped her lips and then she yelped as he nipped at the skin of her inner thigh. He smirked against her skin and then leaned back to fully look at her.

Raine took this opportunity to reach up and pull him down by his tie to kiss him thoroughly, and then made herself busy by undoing said tie slowly and methodically. Normally skilled hands were shaking as they pulled the black shirt out from his pants and clumsily unbuttoned the small buttons. He watched in patience and fascination as she focused on the task at hand and then hissed as her fingers grazed over his abdomen. He realized that it was her nails that were tickling his skin and chuckled slightly. Hesitantly, she slid her fingers up under his shirt and pushed it off of his shoulders. Shinji pulled it off the rest of the way and knelt before her, his upper half completely nude. He was beautiful, even with the pale line of his scar that ran up one side of his abdomen. She pushed herself off of the mattress and pressed her lips against it. Her kisses then spread to other parts of his body. He groaned when he felt her tilt her head and nip at the protruding collarbone and then proceed to lick at it. Her tongue- dear Kami, this woman's tongue would be the death of him, he thought as it flicked from his collarbone and traveled up to his jugular, chomping down on the sensitive skin there. Shinji thought he had died and gone to heaven. At that point, he took hold of his girlfriend's shoulders and pushed her back down on the mattress. His fingers reached for the hem of her shift and pulled it over her head.

Raine blushed as Shinji's eyes drank in the view of her chest heaving as her breathing pitched. She gulped in her nervousness and attempted to hide her breasts behind her forearms before Shinji stopped her, pinning her arms to the sides of her head and her hesitation with his eyes. He leaned in, continuing to stare into her very soul before he could take it no longer and leaned in for a breathtaking kiss. His tongue peeked through her lips, causing her to moan against his. With his tongue ring, he tasted metallic to her, but she didn't complain- in fact, she rather liked it. She smiled against his lips and caressed his face along his cheek as he pulled away. He slowly, torturously trailed his nose from her jaw line down to her jugular, lightly teasing her, the resounding moans like a symphony to his ears. He leaned in and nipped at the junction between her neck and her right shoulder. Her gasp made him shiver with inner delight; he then proceeded to lick at the place he had just bitten, allowing his tongue ring to needle in on a spot that made her gasp and moan. His teeth scraped across her collarbone, and then he pressed his lips to her scar left from the Rook.

She shook in anticipation for what she knew was coming as his eyes flickered down to her breasts and grinned.

"Like I said, so much for nonexistent tits."

"You keep that up and I can stop this right now." she breathed. She knew he knew she was bluffing, but then why wasn't he calling her on it?

He chuckled. "I'll be good." he said, circling his hips against hers. Raine's head lolled back against the pillows and she let out a low moan. "That's a nice reaction." he said lowly. "Shall we see if we can get more like that?" With that, he repeated the pleasurable process and then finally lowered his lips to her breasts, taking a nipple into his mouth to begin sucking on it. Raine about lost her breath altogether when he pressed his tongue against the hardened point. She couldn't help but to wiggle and writhe beneath him. Every second she felt his hot mouth on her, it only contributed to the strange sensation pooling at her lower stomach, and his grinding against her still clothed core sent shivers with the magnitude of earthquakes up her spine. She whimpered at the inability to use her hands to ground herself- a whimper that he caught. He pulled away from her breasts and looked into her eyes again before lowering down to her lower abdomen. Her breath hitched and her blush turned darker as she realized what he was going to do. Teeth scraped lightly against skin until he found the waistband of her white underwear and pulled it down with his teeth. His hands smoothed it down the length of her legs, leaving a fresh patch of thick, dark red curls bared to his eyes. Right then and there, Raine was tempted to close her legs, to prevent her face from getting any more red than it was.

Before she could do that, though, Shinji gently touched a finger around her nether lips, softly exploring. Raine's eyes went back into her head as Shinji inserted a probing finger in. He then began his slow, methodical torture on her mind and reveled in her loud moans. Moans turned into screams as he moved his tongue against her ever so lightly. She found herself gripping onto the sheets for dear life and screaming aloud as his tongue began lapping at her clitoris; she blamed that tongue ring. That little accessory was going to be the death of her, she decided. All other thoughts, though, were wiped away as Shinji enclosed his lips around the quivering bundle of nerves and proceeded to gently suckle it. Raine felt every muscle within her tighten to a breaking point. He was meticulous in his administration, trying to find how many times she would scream, how many times he could make her whimper. It was exhilarating to know that he and only he could do this to her. He could feel her nails digging into his scalp, pushing him closer, and her hips pushed upwards, pressing his face even closer to her nether lips. Raine cried out as every muscle in her body tightened like a coil. Shinji didn't stop at her cries, and she soon found herself exploding with the force of her first orgasm with him. Little whimpers escaped her throat as his tongue lapped up the remains of it. He made eye contact with her once more and then reached up and grazed his fingertips against her cheek and then he leaned backward, undoing his belt. Raine leaned up and assisted him hurriedly.

She blushed as she looked down and saw him naked as sin, but she would not hesitate. This was what she wanted. Her hands went to Shinji's stomach and held him in place as her tongue grazed across his stomach and his abdominals. Shinji's head tilted back as he groaned. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and one again pushed her back down onto the mattress. Raine trembled at the feel of his hard and hot body holding her down, reveled in the feel of his warm, smooth skin. Shinji immediately started circling his hips against hers, allowing his very apparent arousal to rub against her belly. Immediately, he kissed her, drinking in her moans. Raine broke away and looked at him.

"Please,… Shinji," she begged breathily. "I… can't…"

"Ya want me right now, darlin?" he asked.

"Yes." she said. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Shinji smiled in spite of himself and then pushed Raine's arms down, holding them at her sides.

"This may hurt a bit, Raine, but I promise that it'll get better for ya." He kissed her temple as she nodded and braced herself. He pulled back, looking her in the eyes before pushing himself in. Raine cried out for a moment and then bit at her bottom lip against the pain. Shinji gasped; Raine was so tight around him, squeezing for dear life. He was very gentle when he started pushing into her experimentally, mindful of the pain Raine might still be in. Soon whimpers of pain turned into small cries of pleasure. He looked up at her and she nodded her consent; his hands made her way to her hips and held her still as he pushed into her. Raine's head went back; she felt like she was drowning in a bottomless pool of pleasure. Shinji watched his beloved's face as, like a diamond with many different facets, the expressions on her face changed depending on how hard and how deep and how fast he pushed against her. Raine flung her legs around her waist, holding him impossibly close. Shinji paused for a moment, staring down at Raine, who stared back. He placed one hand at her hip and the other at her back. With that, he pushed himself up, positioning her on his lap and once more pushing into her. Raine clung to him, her nails digging into his shoulders, as he pushed farther into her. She pulled Shinji back by his hair and kissed him, which only gave him the urge to go faster. Raine bit her lip, trying to stop her moans; Shinji noted this and leaned in, biting into her neck. At the same time, he gave one forceful push that had her writhing against him.

Soon, the room was filled with the sounds of moans and skin slapping skin. Raine had reached her limit and lost all control, clinging onto Shinji. Soon, he felt his own release and the two collapsed in a mass of tangled and sweaty limbs. He moved aside some of her hair from her face.

"I love ya, darlin'." he said.

"Je t'aime." she murmured lovingly against his skin. Her eyes closed and she soon fell fast asleep against him.

Raine woke strangely well rested the next morning. Leaning up, she pulled a hand through her tousled hair and attempted to gather her thoughts. She gave a squeal of surprise as she noted her state of undress. Suddenly, a thought hit her; slowly, she turned, but flinched as she saw Shinji's same state of undress. They did it; they had finally made love. She felt her heart jump.

Unbeknownst to his soulmate, Shinji had been awake for a while and contented himself with watching her sleep in his arms. Gods, she looked beautiful as she slept with curled hair tousled from the previous night's activities, the feel of her soft skin against his driving him mad. He couldn't resist running a hand along her spine. This, in turn, caused her to jump.

"Easy, darlin'." he said gently. She turned to him with a very red face. He grinned.

"So… so it's not a dream…" she said.

"Did ya want it to be a dream, darlin'?"

"No!" Raine said a little too defensively. She looked down to the floor, her limbs shaking like crazy. "I just… can't believe I had the courage to do that. You know how I get…"

"I do." he replied. "Do ya regret what we did together?"

Raine looked him in the eyes with one of the most serious looks she had ever given him. She leaned forward and hovered over him. "Not at all." she answered lowly, igniting a spark between the both of them. With that, he pulled her down and kissed her so roughly that she thought he might try to steal her breath away. Raine panted as she pulled away and settled for leaning her head against Shinji's chest.

Suddenly a rough bang was heard as Hiyori kicked Shinji's door in.

"Kensei said that you need to come… down for…" She froze as she saw Shinji and Raine's state. Immediately, Raine dove underneath the covers. At the same time, Hiyori slapped her palms to her eyes and cried out after having seen that. "Oh. My. Kami! My eyes!"

"If ya don't like it, then get out!" Shinji shouted. Hiyori didn't even bother to argue, but ran out, shouting at the top of her lungs about the bad mental images she was now going to have. Shinji shook his head and then looked down to the small form beneath the blankets that was his light. "Raine, she's gone now, darlin'. Ya can come out now."

"Raine's not here."

"Not here?" Shinji asked with a raised brow. "Then what have ya done with my Raine?"

The mentioned girl poked her head out from under the blankets, her face red with mortification. Shinji chuckled at her silliness and leaned inward to gently kiss her on the forehead. Then he got up and walked over to where his pants had been flung the previous night. Raine watched in disappointment, and then in puzzlement when he didn't put the pants on like she thought he would. Instead, he took something from the pocket and then walked back over to the bed to join her. Her brow furrowed as he kissed it.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"I just remembered a favor Kisuke did for me." he replied.

"A favor?" Raine asked. Her breath caught as he held up to her a beautiful white gold ring with a white diamond that shimmered in the middle. She gawked at it for another moment before looking up at him. He gave her a deadpan look that immediately quelled all of her questions. "You…"

"Yeah." he answered. "Lorraine… back a hundred years ago, when I thought I wouldn't know where to turn, an elder of a tribal clan- a soothsayer- told me that I would suffer for what seemed like an eternity." Raine's eyes drooped out of sadness. Shinji lifted her chin so that their eyes met. "But she also said that I would find a light, something that I would find more precious to me than my own life. That day that I first laid eyes upon ya, the moment that ya looked back at me, a part of me felt like you were indeed the one that I had drifted through the darkness to find." He took her left hand, running a thumb along her knuckles. "I want that light- that hope that everything will turn out okay- to stay with me always. I love ya, Lorraine. Always have and always will. Will ya do me the honor of marrying me?"

Raine's heart flooded with emotion. She wanted to laugh with happiness and cry tears of joy, and did both. "Yes, yes, yes, I will!" she proclaimed breathily, hugging Shinji around the neck. The two embraced before they heard knocking on Shinji's door.

"I don't know what you did to Hiyori, but you'd better come get breakfast before it's all gone." Kensei's voice said through the door. Raine and Shinji lightly laughed in their happiness.

"Come on, before they send in a whole bunch of people and make a spectacle out of it." Shinji groaned. Raine smiled, stretched, and then got up and dressed quickly.

"You do know what this means, don't you?" Raine asked. Shinji tilted his head to one side. "We're going to have to tell my father, in person." Both Raine and Shinji laughed as their foreheads touched, and then- hand in hand- they walked out to share the news amongst their fellow Visoreds.

Whew! Okay, now I can say that I've written a lemon. I hope it was okay, at least. I did my best. :]