Title: Lily and Thistle

Author: paws_bells

Beta-ed by: MelissaRose85

Characters/Pairing: Sarugaki Hiyori and Hirako Shinji

Type: One-shot Collection (InComplete)

Genre: Romance/Humor

Word Count: 1697

Rating: T (Contains content not suitable for children)

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite.

Summary: 'Say Please'-verse. The language of flowers. The devoted and passionate Lily. The brave and loyal Thistle. A bouquet of love. One-shot series.

Created on: 20/07/13

Completed on: 21/07/13

Chapter Last Revised on: 02/08/13

You're Beautiful

Hiyori frowned at the vast array of bottles, tubes, and cans spread before her. There was everything ranging from cologne to aftershave, and the hair products alone took up an entire section on their own. The blonde didn't even understand the meaning of half of what she was looking at – hair mousse, scalp treatments, leave-in conditioner, hair serums, huh? – and therefore it was not surprising that she was terribly unamused to have to deal with the lot of mysterious items on her watch.

It was the Annual Spring Cleaning Weekend in the Vizards' Warehouse, and even though there were only half of them left, there were still eight bedrooms to clean out, not to mention the common living areas. The other four reinstated Shinigami still returned every once in a while to visit, after all, and they still used their old bedrooms whenever they stayed over in the Living World.

Not surprisingly, Hiyori had been saddled with the responsibility of taking care of her own room and that of Shinji's – by now, the entirety of the Vizards were aware of their budding relationship, and, much to her displeasure, it seemed that everyone was turning to her by default when there was something to do with the baldy. What was she, his mother? Granted, Hachi, Lisa and Love also had their equal share of work to do, but now, as the pigtailed blonde stared at the bewildering assortment of grooming products that sat on Shinji's dressing table, she wondered if she should have protested harder during the individual jobs assignment earlier.

A small vein ticked on Hiyori's forehead. That stupid baldy; even when he wasn't around, he was still giving her problems. Scowling, the petite female quickly started to move the many odds and ends off of the table and onto the bed instead. She was wearing a bandana over her hair and also had a cleaning apron laid over her tracksuit as she went about sweeping, dusting and mopping her designated areas, and she swiftly made deft work of airing out Shinji's bedroom. The young woman made an annoyed face as she rearranged his stuff back into its proper arrangement after that. Her lover was so narcissistic about his appearance and so utterly fastidious about his grooming habits that there was a period of time where she had suspected that he played for the other team, though that had turned out to be untrue, as evidenced by recent events.

Hirako Shinji was just extremely vain, and since he had always been so even back when they were all living in Seireitei – that lengthy sheet of silky, flowing golden hair that he had taken such great pains to grow out had been proof – he also probably invented the term metrosexual. To give him credit, his hair was a lot less ridiculous looking these days; she had never thought that he looked good with long hair – it made him seem way too effeminate for her tastes – but it was obvious that he was compensating for the length by lavishing an unbelievable amount of care to each individual blonde strand.

Hiyori wrinkled her nose in protest when she took a curious whiff of one of the bottles and was immediately overwhelmed by the strong, cloying scent. Quickly recapping the container of chemicals, she scowled and returned it to its rightful place on his dresser. She could not comprehend how he could stand going through all these pointless daily routines for the sake of his appearance when they were hardly even necessary – he was one of those disgustingly good looking people with chiseled cheekbones and a flawless complexion and she didn't even understand why he had to try.

The disgruntled blonde felt personally affronted by her other half's physical perfection then, and her scowl deepened. "Stupid pretty men and their stupid pretty faces," she muttered darkly. "I hope you go bald soon, hage Shinji!"

"You know, it's not nice to curse people behind their backs." A dry, familiar voice sounded behind her then, causing her to jump a couple of feet in surprise. "Whatever have I done to incur your displeasure this time, brat?"

Lounging casually against the doorframe was said physically perfect other half in his usual physically perfect glory, not a strand of hair out of place as he watched her with terribly amused golden eyes, his Captain's uniform settling over his lean, rangy frame in neat lines that complimented his elegant form.

Hiyori swore loudly. "Shiiiit! Shinji! What the hell are ya doing here!" she demanded, her heart pounding in her chest from the scare. She had thought that she was alone in this part of the warehouse and was hardly expecting anyone to drop in on her.

He gave her a droll look. "You forgot, didn't you?"

"Forgot what?" she snapped back, irritated.

"I told you a few days ago that I was gonna visit, remember now?"

She did not remember any such thing, actually, but that was normal. She did recall speaking to him over the phone a few days back, so it was very likely that he had mentioned something to that effect. "I didn't pay attention. You were nattering on and on so much that I stopped listening midway through."

He gave her a mildly chiding look at her awfully honest reply, finally pushing away from the doorframe and lazily sauntering in. "Good to know that you are such an attentive girlfriend, as always."

She scowled at him. "I'm stuck cleaning your stupid bedroom, aren't I?" she retorted irritably, and he eyed her charmingly domestic attire. As usual, she was the cutest when she was all riled up and disgruntled.

"Right. S'that time of the year again," he drawled with perfect nonchalance, and her eyebrow twitched. Was he purposely trying to aggravate her?

Shinji brushed past her surly form to sit on the bed. Then, he reached for her and tugged her towards him. She resisted bullishly but was moved to stand before him all the same. Despite her protests, he took her cleaning supplies off of her hands, divested her of her apron and bandana, and then set them all aside.

"Now, what's got you so infuriated today, brat?" he asked patiently, his large hands resting on the slight curve of her girlish hips and easily spanning her tiny waist, his fingers absently stroking the sliver of soft skin that peeked out from between her tank top and track pants. She frowned at him, but it was somehow hard to maintain her level of annoyance when he was caressing her like that.

"You piss me off," she announced sourly then, and his brow slowly lifted. Shinji was not at all upset or surprised by her hostile answer, though. She had always been high strung, and much to his exasperated amusement, he had been known to offend her in the past just by breathing. Still, the nature of their relationship was slowly improving; she was just a little less likely to be physically violent towards him in her demonstration of displeasure, and he was learning that his touch seemed to calm her down, a discovery that he was more than happy to make use of now that he had every right to do so.

"Alright," he accepted simply. "May I know what I have done to somehow piss you off this time? At least give me something to work with here."

Her scowl deepened, and she tensed. He nudged her nearer to stand between his legs, his arm curling around her small waist as he drew her close, soothing her agitation with his physical presence. It took a while before she finally replied.

"You're too frickin' pretty," she finally mumbled under her breath then, and judging by the way she sounded none too pleased by it, he had to assume that it wasn't a compliment. He had to ask her to repeat her sentence just to be sure that he had heard correctly, and when she irritably growled out the same answer to him, he could not help but smile inwardly.

Well. This was new.

"I think I prefer the term 'handsome,' brat. And I do apologize for being such a heartthrob," he managed to utter at last with a completely straight face. Showing any obvious signs of amusement now would just earn him a bloodied nose amongst other assorted injuries to his person. "I can't do anything about my irresistible good looks, though. Ya know, most women would be happy 'ta have a good lookin' lover."

She glowered at him. "I only said that you were pretty. Don't go and add more words 'ta praise yourself, dumbass." She paused, and then grumpily continued. "And I have no need for a good lookin' lover."

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry but you're stuck with me regardless of your opinion on my physical appearance. Don't worry, though. I've been told that I'm pretty useful to have 'round, and I can also give ya some pretty adorable kids, to boot."

Hiyori was glaring at him again now, bristling with affront again. "You make it sound like I'm completely hideous," she snapped, ignoring his little quip about future progeny, though she could feel her face warm with her fluster, damn him. Shinji was hardly fazed by her defensive prickliness, though.

"Hiyori, Hiyori," he sighed, exasperated fondness in his tone. "Now you're just bein' silly."

Caressing her small, impish face with his fingers, he cupped her cheeks with long, narrow hands and leaned in, kissing her slowly and very thoroughly. His mouth moved against hers with deliberate sensuality and unbidden affection, his tongue brushing lightly against her parted lips with teasing desire, as always, leaving her dazed and breathless, her knees going weak, her heart pounding in her chest. Her bad mood immediately disappeared like grey fog evaporating under the searing heat of the bright sun. Liquid warmth shot through her insides and pumped through her veins, and her catlike ochre eyes were simply mesmerizing in their intensity as they focused sharply on him, the expressive depths glowing with subtle need.

Shinji pulled back slightly and admired the exquisitely lovely sight that she presented.

"You are utterly beautiful to me."

Omake

Shinji slowly ran his long fingers through Hiyori's hair. Her light blonde tresses were let out of their customary pigtails and the thick, unruly mess fell to her chin, framing her face and getting into her eyes. She was sitting on the floor between his legs, her back resting against the mattress he was sitting on, visibly fidgeting and her body language tense, signaling to him her level of discomfort to be in her current position. She had always been particularly defensive of people touching her hair, and it had taken him a while to convince her to let him put his hands on the soft, fluffy mass.

"You cut your own hair, didn't you?" he observed critically, eying the choppy length of flaxen gold that he had spread over his palm. The uneven ends were even more obvious now that she had let her hair down. She stiffened slightly.

"Yeah," she admitted grudgingly. "I don't like it when it's too long. It gets all over the place and it's annoying."

A foreboding feeling inundated him at her flippant statement. "Don't tell me you just use Kubikiri Orochi to saw off the ends." He sounded horrified by his realization.

Hiyori shrugged carelessly, apparently unconcerned. "It's just hair."

Indeed it was. Hers was thick and had a very slight, natural wave, untainted by chemicals or any of the harsh, unnatural hair treatments that were so popular in the Living World. Despite its deceptively bristly appearance whenever she had it up in pigtails, it was very soft and feathery to the touch, and she seemed to gradually relax as he continued to work his fingers through the strands, slowly untangling any stubborn knots that he found along the way.

"You're a girl, brat," he reminded her after a while, sighing as he did so. "Aren't most girls supposed ta' be conscious 'bout their appearance?"

She snorted. "You're girly enough for the both of us," she retorted. "If I have ta' take the effort to be half as vain as you are, I won't have time for anything else."

He ignored her jab at him and continued to stroke her hair, grabbing a brush from his dresser as he did so to help tame her short tresses. She calmed further under his soothing, repetitive ministrations, and eventually she was lulled into a sleepy state. Draping her arm over his knee, her head slowly drooped down and she ended up resting her cheek against his thigh, her feline eyes at a lazy half-mast as she enjoyed the feel of his blunt nails scratching lightly against her scalp. It felt really good to be tended to by him, and a soft, languid purr escaped her. He chuckled softly; she was like putty in his hands.

"You're really enjoying this," he commented over her head, his low timbre rich with amusement. Luckily for him, she was feeling too lethargic at the moment to take issue with his tone.

"You've missed your calling as a hairstylist and a masseuse, hage Shinji," Hiyori murmured drowsily, content to remain where she was under his care.

"Yeah, well, I'm only willin' 'ta work for a really exclusive client, and she gives awfully lousy tips," he teased. "I'll just stick to my day job as a lowly Shinigami Taichou, thank you very much."

Sure enough, she reacted to his comment, tipping her head backwards to look into his eyes. "What do ya mean, 'lousy tips?'" she demanded. "Just what sorta tips are ya looking for, anyway?"

Setting the brush aside, he leaned down and brushed his mouth against her cheek, right over where her freckles were. She froze, startled. "This will do for now," he murmured, and then, taking advantage of her surprise, he kissed the side of her mouth as well. As always, his unhesitating displays of affection both pleased and rattled her at the same time.

"Shinji!" she protested halfheartedly, and he drew back to look at her. Her fluffy hair was tamed for now, and it fell around her face in slightly tousled layers and brought out the softness of her features, usually well hidden by her prickly demeanor and hardnosed attitude.

"Grow out your hair a little more," he told her then, his hand reaching out to catch a flaxen lock and tugging gently at it. "I liked it more when it was longer."

'Hell no' was at the tip of her tongue, followed closely by 'Screw you.' But she was weak to that affectionate look in his eyes, that particular expression that made her feel like she was something precious to him, that Sarugaki Hiyori was someone beloved, and the words she originally meant to say would not come out.

"Only if you brush out my hair whenever I want you to," she ended up blurting out instead, and even though she was immediately irritated with herself for automatically folding to his wishes so easily, there was no denying that he took very good care of her needs.

"Deal," he agreed with an easy grin. "You're weak to people touching your hair, huh?"

I'm just weak to you, she thought irritably, though she knew better than to voice it. His insufferable ego was already big enough; there was no need to make it even worse.

"Stupid baldy," she muttered disgruntledly. "You're turnin' me into a girl."

"This may come as a complete surprise to you, brat, but you are a girl," he reminded her drolly.

"You're also my girl, so that means you're gonna be extra loved and pampered, even if you kick and scream 'bout it the entire while. Now, aren't ya lucky?"

::owari::

Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:

Yeah, I feel that Shinji's something of a vainpot, and you can really tell by the amount of care and attention he puts into his attire and hairstyle in the series. Not to mention, in a 'Turn Back the Pendulum' outtake by Kubo, he was clearly very concerned about his hair and was more interested in going home to condition it (and then have his beauty sleep) than having a night out in a karaoke bar with the other Shinigami, haha.

Headcanon: He definitely has all sorts of grooming products lining his dresser, I tell you! (And those in his bedroom in the Vizard Warehouse are just part of his spare, emergency stash – the main hoard is back in Seireitei, but that's another story for another time, haha.)

…That's why Hiyori is such a good match for him – he needs a significant other who doesn't give a damn about such things and is hardly intimidated (or impressed) by the fact that he's so much more knowledgeable about personal grooming than any normal man should. Besides, somebody has to give up their dresser space (what with Shinji taking up most of it), and it's just as well that Hiyori's an au naturel kind of girl.

Don't feel too bad for her though; Shinji's always trying to groom her and I bet he also gives the best head rubs ever – just look at those long, elegant fingers!

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Erm, the rest of this chapter is pretty much self-explanatory, so I don't think there's much to point out – I will leave it like this for now.

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Also, I believe that there's a slight miscommunication with some of the readers that I need to clarify.

'Lily and Thistle' is M-rated (and I know that I have also very shamelessly declared that it is meant to be a ShiYori smut fic) but that doesn't mean that this series will just purely consist of endless sex scenes (that will get old very quickly, trust me). Basically, there will be different scenarios for the various one-shots/miniseries, so long story short, I promise that there will be smut coming your way every few chapters (there will be one next installment, in fact – FYI for those with a really burning need to know, ahahaha), but since this is not a PWP type of fic (there is a plot somewhere, I assure you), just be aware that you will not always be reading smut every chapter – just letting you guys know this first.

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And, and, AND! I'm very excited and pleased to announce that 'Lily and Thistle' has just received its very first fanart! The wonderful Mic-RNOL-Mik has created a very, very cute piece for the previous miniseries, 'The Empress' New Clothes.' I already have the link up on my profile page (under the 'Fanarts' heading), so go check it out! It's really adorable and I'm still gushing over it! =)

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Last but not least, thanks for reading!

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Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-paws