A/N: Written for shipping week at Caesar's Palace. Prompt: Coffeeshop

"Um…" Yayoi stared at her girlfriend, who was standing in the doorway offering a bouquet of mixed flowers. What did just she ask me?

"Come onnn Yayoi-kun. We're off duty the whole day." Shion wheedled, apparently taking the black-haired Enforcer's lack of a response for reluctance. Yayoi shook her head, "No, I know. But how –?"

"Don't you want to go on a date with me?" Shion pouted, pushing out her bottom lip.

"Well yes, that would nice, but –" Yayoi tried, only to be interrupted again.

"Fantastic! I'll be here around 11:00, dress cute!" With that, the blonde analyst thrust the flowers into Yayoi's hands, twirled around, and disappeared around the corner.

"Um…" Yayoi said again, blinking. Did that just happen? She looked at the flowers, down the hall where Shion had gone, and back at the flowers. Her lips twitched in amusement and she shut the door to her apartment. "Well." She was no less confused by what she had just agreed to, but Shion had seemed excited about it so Yayoi decided to play along. She rummaged around in her cupboards for a suitable cup to stick the flowers in, breathing in their sweet scent.

"Flowers in the middle of December…" She muttered, shaking her head in wonder. It must have cost a pretty penny, too much for a 'just because' present. No, Shion was up to something. Glancing at the clock, Yayoi figured that she had just enough time to shower and throw together something 'cute' without feeling too rushed.

She was busy fidgeting with her blue dress and yellow scarf when there was a knock at her door. Yayoi opened the door with a smile, and Shion gave an appreciative whistle. "My, my, girl." She said. The analyst herself was wearing her signature red dress, though she had swapped her lab coat for a cinched leather jacket.

"Let's go, shall we?" She said sunnily, grabbing Yayoi's hand. The black-haired Enforcer smiled indulgently, but when they turned left instead of right she frowned in confusion. Feeling the slight resistance, Shion looked back and cocked her head. "Come on." She said, giving their joined hands a tug.

"Where are we going? The mess hall is the other way." Yayoi said, a confused frown on her face. Shion laughed and kept going, pulling Yayoi along.

"Do you really think we're going to the mess hall for our very first date?" Now that she mentioned it, Yayoi supposed that it really was their first date. They'd been involved with each other for a while now, but their relationship had been more in the bedroom than anything else. Besides, Enforcers didn't really have many places to go. Yayoi voiced this concern aloud, and Shion laughed again.

"Don't worry about it, hun. Look, our ride's here." An unmarked police car was waiting at the curb, and much to Kunizuka's befuddlement, there was no one inside. Trepidation began running through her, and she hesitated. "Shion, what are you doing?" She asked warily, glancing up at the security cameras. This wasn't going to look good.

"Like I said, don't worry about it. This is perfectly fine. It's already pre-programmed, see?" Shion said, pointing to the noticeable absence of a steering wheel. She slid in confidently, patting the seat next to her. Yayoi shot one more glance at the cameras before perching on the seat, stiff as a rod. They pulled out onto the street and rumbled downtown.

"Shion, are we running?" Kunizuka asked calmly, fixing her partner with a serious gaze. It was returned with an offended look. "Hun, if we were running, I would've asked you to bring more stuff with you."

Yayoi was not amused. "Karanomori, we are Enforcers, tied to the Bureau. Right now we are moving quite quickly away from the Bureau, and we are very much without an Inspector." Shion's expression turned slightly guilty, and Yayoi stiffened immediately, anger and fear leaping up inside her. Before she could say anything, however, Shion ran her fingers gently across Yayoi's cheek. "I would never want to put you at that kind of risk, Yayoi, not without letting you make the decision for yourself. Don't you trust me at least that far?"

Kunizuka looked away without saying anything. She was used to flying solo, taking care of her own skin. Yes, she would consider herself involved with Shion, but there was still a part of her that was ever ready to pull back if things turned sour. She had learned her lesson with Rina. She heard Shion sigh and felt a wiggle of guilt in her gut. The analyst had been beyond patient with their relationship, and whether she knew it or not, she was slowly chipping away at the walls around Yayoi's heart. Kunizuka did her best to shove away her apprehension and looked over at the blonde. The black-haired Enforcer reached over and laced her fingers through Shion's.

"Can you tell me where we're going, at least?" She asked, careful to keep any venom out of her tone.

"It's a surprise." Shion replied sheepishly. "Sorry. But I can promise you that we have the approval from the higher-ups." She said sincerely, and Yayoi nodded. After a few more minutes, the car pulled into the parking lot of a quaint little coffeeshop, and Shion grinned.

"Here we are, my dear." She said, pressing a brief kiss to Kunizuka's cheek before getting out and beckoning her to do the same. She was standing right in front of a Scanner, and Yayoi was relived but utterly confused when the Scanner failed to sound the alarm. She exited the car cautiously and followed Shion inside. It was strange; they were almost like normal people. As they passed through the doorway, a familiar laugh caught her attention. Sitting at a table for two off in the corner was the cheerful face of Tsunemori Akane. She was facing them, and when she spotted them she waved, winking. The person sitting across from her turned around and nodded at his fellow Enforcers, a faint blush coloring his cheeks.

"Was that…Ginoza?" Yayoi asked as they settled in at a table of their own.

"Mmhmm. Cute match, if I do say so myself." Shion said, glancing conspiringly at the smiling couple. They watched as Akane giggled at something Ginoza said. She pointed out something outside the window and this time it was Ginoza who laughed. He casually placed his hand over hers, and she smiled sweetly back at him.

Yayoi couldn't help but smile to the two of them. For all their professionalism on the job, they didn't look like they were new at the whole couple thing either. Now that she knew, it was easy to look back and see the hints of their romance, but they had kept it very well under wraps. "Masaoka would be so happy." She commented, turning her attention back to her girlfriend. Shion nodded in agreement, placing her hand over Yayoi's in a manner not dissimilar to what Ginoza had done a few moments ago.

"We can pretend to be regular people today, Yayoi." She said earnestly. "I don't know how she did it, but Akane arranged for the Street Scanners around here to not go off if they recognize a registered Enforcer. She was the one who put the route in the car too. And of course, since she's an Inspector, we're technically not breaking any rules here. "

"And she got a date with Ginoza out of it." Kunizuka remarked, squeezing the analyst's hand. She couldn't believe that Shion had gone through all that the trouble of arranging this for them. It couldn't have been easy, especially the part where there were three latent criminals sitting amidst the general population. The gentle notes of a guitar floated through the air, and Yayoi perked up immediately. Shion laughed at her response and pointed to the guitarist sitting on a small stage.

"I thought you'd appreciate the live music. It's not rock, of course, but…" Yayoi shook her head, caught by a sudden bout of emotion. She leaned over and caught Shion's lips with her own.

"It's perfect. This is perfect." She said when she pulled away, eyes shining. She had been wrong, she realized. Loving Shion – and being loved by her – was completely different from her experience with Rina. It was richer, more vibrant and comfortable, like sitting by a fireplace on a cold winter day.

"I'm sorry for doubting you, Shion." She murmured, using her thumb to trace circles on the blonde's hand.

"That's alright. I guess it did look pretty suspicious." A pause, and then:

"Yayoi? I think I love you."

There was no hesitation in the black-haired Enforcer's response. "I think I love you too, Shion."

A/N: So there we are. I didn't go back through this, so I apologize for any awkward wording and typos. Reviews would be wonderful!