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: 2799

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: 27/07/13

Completed on: 28/07/13

Chapter Last Revised on: 14/08/13

Hiyori, Drunk – Part II

Shinji managed to get Hiyori back to the warehouse without too much trouble. She was slightly groggy and unfocused, and therefore put up no resistance as he brought her home. She was quiet and clingy when inebriated, content to stay close to him, and was completely docile and compliant when he gave her a glass of water to drink. Her obedience and the lack of a struggle would have thrown him in for a loop if not for the fact that this had happened before, and therefore he simply gave in to the inevitable when they got to her bedroom and she dragged him into bed with her.

His brat pushed him onto the mattress and then wasted no time wiggling determinedly into his arms, curling into his side like a little cat and affectionately nuzzling her warm face into the side of his throat. She exhaled with contentment and relaxed in his hold, openly happy to cuddle with him.

"You smell really good," she mumbled, sighing softly with pleasure near his ear, deeply taking in his scent, a perfect blend of his cologne and the earthy masculine musk of him, now tinted with the slightest hint of sake, her hands tightening into the folds of his kosode as she pressed herself even closer to him.

Shinji was slightly amused by her remark; she had pretty much said the same thing the last time around too. Hiyori was so defensive and prickly most of the time, and it was hardly surprising that she seldom made mention of her preferences unless she happened to be out of her usual frame of mind – like now.

Hiyori suddenly sat up then, pushing herself upright and fanning herself agitatedly with a limp hand as she did so. "Am hot," she complained, and then she was tugging at her red jacket, pulling it off of herself and tossing it haphazardly onto the floor, leaving only her thin white tank top on as she went on to fiddle with her track pants. Peeling off the heavy material and kicking her bottoms off of the bed as well, she was about to follow it up with the removal of her plain white panties when he quickly grabbed her hands and pulled her back down against his chest instead.

"No, brat," he told her huskily. "Your underwear stays on tonight; at least have some mercy on me."

Hiyori frowned at him but thankfully did not take issue with his refusal to let her continue to strip. Besides, all of her thicker clothes had already been shed, and she was starting to cool down. The smaller blonde tilted her head to watch her lover instead, looking at him with bright, fascinated eyes. Then, she reached out to touch his fringe.

"You have pretty hair," she blurted out suddenly, fingering the fine golden strands with obvious interest. Already resigned to his fate, he allowed her to lean over him to play with his long, fine bangs, though eventually, her attention fell onto his handsome, aristocratic face. Her glowing ochre gaze studied him intently, her hand lowering from his forehead to softly caress his cheek. Her touch was unexpectedly gentle, her fingers lightly tracing over his skin; the bridge of his nose, his sharp cheekbones, his lips. She was still flushed from the alcohol, and the expression on her face was incredibly tender and attentive as she watched him. As her lover, he could not help but to instinctively react to her look of feminine interest and desire.

Hiyori slowly dipped her head towards his until their mouths were nearly touching, and then, she whispered with pure, sweet affection. "I love you, Shinji."

His breath caught involuntarily, his pupils dilating at her earnest, candid confession, and before he could respond to it, she was kissing him. Slowly, softly, lovingly. She was lying on top of him now, chest to chest, her small hands framing his face, holding him still as she kissed him with exquisite fervor, and he was gently overcome by her brand of innocent seduction. Her lips rubbed against his teasingly, her soft, wet tongue licking eagerly at his mouth, and his good intentions promptly marched right out the front door. His blood quickly heated in his veins and his arms went around her immediately, pulling her close as he hungrily devoured her mouth, sucking and nipping gently, coaxing her lips apart and sweeping his own pierced tongue in to tangle with hers. She groaned throatily and arched slightly against him, helpless to resist the onslaught of his growing passion, her hands sliding down from his face to his shoulders, then tugging clumsily at his kosode, trying to rid him of his uniform.

She was simply intoxicating. They hadn't been together for months and he had missed her, badly. Her scent and warmth and presence surrounded him and he was lost in the sensual promise of her body and her ready, utterly receptive responses. The way she moved against him, the needy, desirous want and focus she had on him, the feel of her warm mouth and her fervent touch, they all did things to him no other women could, like so many little tenterhooks that dug deeply under his skin and bound him to her in a way that he never wanted to be free of. She was his weakness, his Achilles' heel, the chink in his armor. He had always been drawn to her even from the very beginning; she was mesmerizing, her fierce spirit captivating, and…

She was also completely drunk.

The reminder was like a splash of icy water to his fevered, enraptured senses, and Shinji was briefly dazed by the speed in which his desire for her had taken hold of him. He pulled away from her slightly only for her to grunt in protest and strain towards him to close the distance once more, and the way she was suckling so sweetly on his tongue made heady lust roar through him like a freight train. Good god. If they didn't stop right now, then he wasn't going to be able to hold back his overwhelming urge for her for very long.

He quickly rolled her onto her back underneath him and finally broke the kiss with a regretful groan, much to her little whimper of displeasure.

"Shinji!"

The Shinigami Captain dodged his lover's attempt to grab him by pinning her down firmly, and then he laid his forehead against her shoulder, his breathing slightly faster than usual, and it took him at least a minute to recompose himself.

"…Shinji?" the woman lying beneath him asked questioningly then. "Why did you stop?"

He lifted his head to look at her and instantly regretted it. Her feline eyes were still bright with need and passion, her small mouth red and kiss swollen, a lovely flush smudging her cheeks, and right now everything about her was encouraging him to ravish her until they were both utterly exhausted from the act. He shook his head to dispel the all too attractive notion, trying to quell his arousal at the same time. It wasn't going all too well, what with the object of his desire so near him and looking entirely too willing to fulfill his every fantasy and want.

"You're drunk, brat," he told her gruffly at last. "I'm not gonna touch you like this."

She looked at him. And pouted. He stiffened. His head was still spinning slightly at how differently she was behaving. This was really not what had happened the last time he and Kisuke accidentally got her inebriated. Her reaction had been more childlike and innocent back then, but now there was an unexpectedly seductive quality in her responses, and it was slowly driving him crazy.

"Why?" she demanded, looking quite sulky at the same time. It was somehow cute and incredibly sexy at the same time.

"'Cause you aren't gonna remember a damn thing tomorrow, that's why," he informed her flatly. "I won't make love to you when you're inebriated."

"You don't know that," she protested, and he just gave her a look. Unfortunately, he was Taichou for a reason, and despite his sometimes comical levity and behavior, actually possessed far more self-control and discipline than she could ever challenge him for.

"No means no," he told her, perhaps more curtly than necessary, but he was incredibly tense himself – she was completely inviting and pliant under him and it was a challenge to resist her sensual offer. "Consider this your punishment for drinking and getting yourself drunk, brat."

Then, Hiyori did something that he did not expect at all.

Her eyes filled with tears, much to his stunned horror. The deep, soulful ochre depths were huge and accusatory as she looked at him

"You don't love me at all, do you?" Her voice hitched pitifully as she asked him the utterly ridiculous question, though as he looked at her incredulously, it became obvious to him that her upset was very real.

Large droplets of saline sadness flowed down her cheeks even as he gawked at her in shock. What. The. Hell.

What the ever loving hell?!

"You just don't want to touch me," she insisted with pure hurt, suddenly looking like a wounded fawn, much to his increasingly bewilderment. Was this really his brat? "You don't love me at all, even though I love you so much."

Shinji blinked slowly. O-kay. Okay, he should have known that something was wrong with her the moment she suddenly confessed her love for him. That had never happened before, and he had let himself get carried away in the moment of blissful confusion.

"Did you hit your head just now or somethin', Hiyori?" he demanded then, and she looked so betrayed by his apparent lack of regard for her tender feelings that she ended up crying harder.

"Shinji, you meanie!" she wailed, pounding on his shoulders with her small fists. "You poopy head! I hate you!"

…Poopy…head? He thought ludicrously even as he barely felt her attack on him. Hiyori never pulled her punches, but these right now were so completely weak that even a little girl could hit harder than this. Not for the first time, he wondered if this woman was really his lover. Even her speech pattern was different. What was going on?

"We're breaking up right now, since I'm so hideous to you!" she cried, successfully clawing her way free from his grasp, loosened by his dumbfounded surprise. Swiping the back of her hand against her tearing eyes, she clambered clumsily across the bed and swung her feet onto the ground, preparing for her flight from his presence.

Her reiatsu was turbulent with agitation – the signature of the familiar spiritual pressure was clearly hers and not that of an imposter – and he slowly began to realize the truth.

She was just intoxicated – really intoxicated – and this was the personality that was unleashed when she was not in control of herself. It was still his Hiyori, just a facet of her personality that he was not very familiar with, and with that in mind, he reached out and snagged her arm before she could run off, pulling her back towards him and simply absorbing her weak struggles as he lowered his head and kissed the side of her neck.

"Stop it, brat," he told her, wry affection filtering into his tone. Even when inebriated, she was still a handful; she was such a weird little thing but he didn't think that he would ever lose interest in her.

"Don't call me brat!" She tried to shove him away but to no avail. "Why do you always call me by such an awful nickname?!"

He was really nonplussed by this overly sensitive side of her, but she was still sniffling rather pitifully, and his heart squeezed with guilt at staining that adorable face with tears. "Alright, I'll stop," he improvised quickly. "But you're not goin' anywhere; you can't run off with my heart still in your possession, luv."

His words seemed to have an effect on her, for she stilled and looked at him with large teary eyes which he was quickly finding himself completely weak to. She was so damn…cute. He pulled her onto his lap and tucked her head under his chin. Unlike the normal prickly Hiyori, this current version was actually more than willing to be babied by him. Shinji had no idea what to make of this entirely strange situation. Still, this was literally a once-in-a-century event, so he might as well not think too much and just try to make the best out of it. "Don't cry, Hiyori," he murmured, affection swelling in his chest for the quivering bundle of femininity in his arms. "I'm sorry, alright?"

She said nothing for a while, but just when he was beginning to think that perhaps she had nodded off on him, she abruptly spoke.

"Sing for me," Hiyori demanded. "I want to hear you sing."

Shinji stilled in surprise. "Sing? You want me 'ta sing?" he repeated slowly, as if in disbelief, and she turned her head up to look at him.

"You sang last time," she pointed out. "Sakura Sakura. I remember. I want you to sing again."

Last time? Sing…again? And that song…there was only one time where he had sung it to her, and that was a very long time ago, when she was drunk. Suddenly, Shinji realized something. He stared at the smaller blonde in shock. "You…remembered."

Or rather, this hidden side of her had never forgotten. In response, Hiyori just laid her head back down on his shoulder and expectantly waited for him to begin.

Shinji was very bemused and equally fascinated, but he did not deny her request. Clearing his throat, he briefly recalled the stanzas, and then cradling her tenderly to his chest, he lowered his head and started to sing quietly and slowly, huskily whispering the words of the folksong in deference to the proximity of her ear.

Sakura sakura
Noyama mo sato mo
Mi-watasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumo ka
Asahi ni niou
Sakura sakura
Hana zakari

Sakura sakura
Yayoi no sora wa
Mi-watasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumo ka
Nioi zo izuru
Izaya izaya
Mini yukan

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
In fields and villages
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the morning sun.
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Flowers in full bloom.

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Across the spring sky,
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the air.
Come now, come now,
Let's look, at last!

It was more of a lyrical recital than a song actually, with the way he went about it, but his low, deep tenor was lulling and soothing, and just like last time over a century ago, the sound of his voice slowly calmed her agitation and made her stop crying. She turned her face into his throat and nuzzled him drowsily, her small hands clutching loosely onto his kosode, her eyes starting to slowly slide shut. He projected tranquility and safety, and she could not help but to react to it, relaxing more and more in his arms until she was all but draped bonelessly over him, and she sighed very softly.

By the time he finished singing, she was already fast asleep. Shinji's golden gaze was soft with affection as he watched over his slumbering lover, and he was exquisitely gentle as he removed her hair pins and freed her hair from its pigtailed constraints. Then, he moved to lay her down on the bed, and she stirred slightly when he made to pull away. Her hand came up to wrap around his wrist, and her ochre eyes opened briefly, showing mild confusion and the beginnings of a small frown.

"Where're you goin'?" she asked in a little bleary whimper. "Don't go. Stay."

"I'm not goin' anywhere," he assured her, and true to form, he started to remove his white haori and vest, draping the heavy fabric against a nearby chair alongside with his cravat before he climbed back into bed to rejoin her, dressed only in his black shihakusho this time, lying on his side beside her and curling his lean frame around her smaller one. She wiggled around to face him and burrowed her way into his arms, leaning in close and resting her head against his shoulder, fitting herself comfortably to his body. Stretching up slightly, she brushed a small, affectionate kiss against his chiseled jaw before settling back down to sleep.

"Love you," she whispered very quietly into his neck before she finally nodded off, out like a light. Shinji tilted down and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too, my Hiyori."

Omake

He woke to the sound of her disgruntled swearing the next day. She was obviously grumpy and experiencing some level of discomfort judging by the general content of her mutters, and he would not be surprised if she was slightly hung-over from her adventures the previous night – the little lightweight. She was also squirming against him in increasing agitation and unceremoniously jabbing her sharp elbows into his side, and at last he just drew her even closer to him to quell her movements.

"Good mornin', luv," he murmured in a voice husky from sleep, languidly cracking open a golden eye to look at her. She scowled cantankerously up at him. Huh, it seemed that she was back to her normally grouchy, short tempered self.

"How many times must I tell ya; don't call me that," she snapped sharply only to wince when the sound of her own shrill voice jarred her aching head. She looked pretty miserable, overall. Slightly amused over her misfortune, Shinji propped his elbow on the bed and rested his chin on the flat of his palm to watch her.

"Head hurts?" he enquired lazily, and he sounded so completely unsympathetic to her discomfort that she just glowered at him. He ignored the evil eye she was sending his way and continued, lightly tapping her temple with his long index and middle digits as he did so. "That's why you shouldn't drink, stupid. Do you remember what happened last night?"

She slapped his hand away from her irritably, not in the mood for his teasing. "Don't call me stupid, shithead," she growled lowly, and he humored her by patting her head, much to her increasing outrage. "Stop that!" She cringed once again when her voice hurt her head and he took pity on her this time, pulling her close and nuzzling her with affectionate apology, absorbing her struggles even though she hissed and sputtered, holding her and waiting patiently until she reluctantly settled in his arms.

"You don't remember a thing, do ya?" he asked, his voice pitched low in deference to her current sensitive condition.

She grumbled sourly. "I don't know what yer talkin' 'bout. Stop yappin', my head hurts."

He ignored her and continued. "That's a pity, ya know. Because you were hella entertaining last night; ya sure ya don't wanna talk 'bout it?"

At his extremely amused tone, alarm bells started to ring in her head. Hiyori was not one to back off so easily though. The petite female turned her face up to scowl at her lover. "If you're gonna say somethin', just say it. I'm gonna beat it outta ya if you keep stallin'," she snapped.

He shrugged elegantly at her touchy ferocity. "Well then, if you insist," he remarked with a deliberate nonchalance that just drove her blood pressure straight up. "You were very busy last night, brat. You professed your love 'ta me no less than three times, and you kept tryin' 'ta molest me and I had 'ta stop ya from takin' off all of your clothes. You got pretty emotional after that – and by 'emotional' I mean that you got all weepy and dramatic and stuff – ya sure surprised me."

Hiyori froze in disbelief and looked aghast at his flat, deadpan account. "No," she muttered, embarrassment threatening to take over her. "You're lying. I couldn't have-"

"You sure did," he cut her off before she could finish denying his words. "You also called me very cute names like 'meanie' and 'poopy head,' and then you insisted that I give you a nicer nickname other than 'brat' – I started callin' you 'luv,' by the way, which seemed to make you quite happy-" Hiyori flushed horribly at that. "-and then-"

"You're not done yet?" she cried out, horrified. She was also trying to subtly wiggle away from him in obvious mortification, but he was not having any of it. He was determined that she suffer through the consequences of her actions, no matter how embarrassing she found them to be. He cut her a bland look.

"You were very busy, brat," he emphasized drolly, before going back to his recital of a night in the life of Sarugaki Hiyori, Inebriated Edition. Hiyori groaned and finally quit trying to escape, accepting that he wasn't going to let her get away with whatever she had done this time. She thunked her head against her lover's shoulder, who was enjoying this far too much for his own good, damn him. "You were being really cute and cuddly too; it was really adorable." The smaller blonde twitched at being described as 'cute,' 'cuddly,' and 'adorable.' "Ah, you also demanded that I serenade you to sleep."

That was the last straw.

Hiyori lifted her head quickly to glare at Shinji once again, most of her headache dissipating by now to be replaced by immeasurable chagrin. "You're makin' all this up, aren't ya?" she demanded, bullishly trying to bluster her way through the situation as usual. "You're just pullin' bullshit right outta your ass. There's no way-"

His golden eyes sharpened. "Isn't there?" he challenged her in a mild but even tone. "Do you remember what happened last night? Is there any way for you to refute anything I say?"

Hiyori's mouth snapped shut. He had her there. She could not remember a damn thing at all, and the realization was…unsettling, to say the least. Shinji rapped his knuckles lightly against her head. She yelped in protest.

"You can't hold your liquor at all, brat, and worse still, you're also completely vulnerable when you're drunk. See now why I have such a huge issue with you drinking alcohol? Don't make me worry, stupid."

Hiyori scowled, doing her best to ignore the concern in his tone. "I didn't know it was alcohol, alright! I thought it was just a new type of soft drink – and it tasted weird, too."

His brow twitched at her reply. "You thought that it was a soft drink?" Shinji didn't know whether to be amused or disturbed by her naiveté. "Be more aware next time, and if something tastes weird, don't just keep drinking it, little idiot! This is the second time already!"

She punched him hard in the shoulder then, her tolerance for his awful brand of pet names for her already at its limit. "Quit calling me that, shithead!" Then, sobering slightly, she immediately questioned. "What do you mean by 'second time already?'"

Shinji just scrutinized the irritated female enigmatically. At last, he gave her a flippant shrug.

"If you don't remember, then I ain't tellin'."

"Hage Shinji!"

::owari::

Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:

Headcanon: Hiyori's default operating mode is 'Tsundere.' However, exposure to alcohol will unlock the special hidden 'dere dere Hiyori' mode. This mode must be approached with extreme caution and constant supervision, for even though the Graphical User Interface suddenly becomes extremely User Friendly, it is also extremely sensitive, and any rough handling or wrong approach will immediately result in partial system breakdown, emotional tantrums and lots of tears – usually on both sides.

(For those who do not know, dere dere means 'lovey lovey' in Japanese.)

xXxXxXxXxX

…To be honest, Shinji's kind of afraid of the Hiyori: Lovey Lovey Model.

He's just thankful that Hiyori is not like that most of the time and that when she is, she doesn't remember a thing after a good sleep.

(Because dere dere Hiyori is so cute that Shinji becomes utter putty in her hands, and it's even more difficult than usual to say 'no' to her when she wants something.)

xXxXxXxXxX

Dere dere Hiyori is basically the same as Tsundere Hiyori but somewhat different at the same time.

Tsundere Hiyori is more emphatic and forceful in getting what she wants, whereas Dere dere Hiyori frowns on violence and uses her cute feminine wiles to get her way instead. Dere dere Hiyori is rather ladylike, speaks in proper sentences and does not swear, whereas Tsundere Hiyori is a tomboy, speaks in Kansai-ben and is a swearing machine.

Both are equally scary and determined to get their way no matter what, though, so I kind of feel a bit sorry for Shinji, ahaha.

xXxXxXxXxX

…And why do I suddenly feel like I'm writing a user manual?

xXxXxXxXxX

Moving on…Yes, as hinted in the omake and the previous chapter, this double-shot will link to the next miniseries (also another double-shot) that will briefly take us back a hundred years plus a decade and a bit more, to the 'Turn Back The Pendulum' arc where the first part of this whole story originally started. Shinji and Hiyori share such a long history together that I cannot help but take advantage of their bond and try to fill in the blanks with some of my many headcanons.

Anyway, please look forward to it!

xXxXxXxXxX

The song that Shinji sang to Hiyori is called 'Sakura Sakura' (さくら さくら, 'Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms'). It is a traditional Japanese folk song, dating back to the Edo period, depicting spring, the season of cherry blossoms. For those who are interested in listening to the song, please visit Wikipedia (you can search for the relevant page on Google using the tag 'Sakura Sakura' – it's the very first result), they have a really nice adaptation of it.

xXxXxXxXxX

Last but not least, thanks for reading!

xXxXxXxXxX

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

-paws